Department of Health and Social Care

Drugs: Manufacturing Industries

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress she has made on negotiations with the pharmaceutical sector.

Andrew Stephenson: A new voluntary scheme has been agreed in principle by the government, NHS England and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and will run for 5 years from 1st January 2024.It is a landmark deal that is set to save the NHS around £14 billion over 5 years in medicines costs that can be used to provide the best possible treatment and care for NHS patients, grow the workforce and cut waiting lists.

Cancer: Research

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to support research into glioblastoma and other less survivable cancers.

Andrew Stephenson: I am very grateful to the Honourable Gentleman for bringing this challenge to my attention.We are working closely with research partners, and I am pleased to say that more research is being funded as we continue to encourage more researchers to become involved in what remains a challenging scientific area, with a relatively small research community.My office is in the process of arranging meetings with key stakeholders in this area. This includes leading charities and a separate meeting between leadership of the MHRA and honourable members who are similarly passionate to see advances in research.This is an issue close to my heart, and I am confident that the Government's continued commitment to funding will help us make progress towards effective treatments.

Question

Mr Ben Bradshaw: What steps she is taking to reduce NHS waiting times.

Andrew Stephenson: Cutting waiting lists is a top priority for this government. We are continuing to work with NHS England to deliver their plan for tackling the backlog and making good progress.We have invested in expanding diagnostic and surgical capacity, creating 135 Community Diagnostics Centres and expanding our surgical hubs to 95 so far, supported by an additional £5.9bn capital investment. This is in addition to £8bn invested in elective recovery through to 2024/25.

Question

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for cancer treatment.

Andrew Stephenson: Improving cancer treatment waiting times is a top priority for the government and is a key focus of our elective recovery plan, backed by an additional £8bn in revenue funding across the Spending Review Period.In the 2023/24 Operational Planning Guidance, NHS England announced it is providing over £390m to Cancer Alliances. This will support delivery of operational priorities for cancer which includes increasing and prioritising cancer treatment capacity.

Glioblastoma

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she (a) is and (b) plans to take steps to help increase the median survival rate for people with glioblastoma.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Healthy Start Scheme: Expenditure

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much her Department spent on the Healthy Start Scheme in the 2022-23 financial year.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Health Services: Children

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce elective backlogs in child health services.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Health Services: Children

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what percentage of funding announced for NHS services in 2023 will be spent on child health services.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Palliative Care

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure there is sufficient capacity within the NHS workforce to provide (a) hospice and (b) at-home hospice services.

Helen Whately: Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning palliative and end of life care services, including from the hospice sector, that meet the needs of their local populations. Most hospices are independent charitable organisations that receive some statutory funding from ICBs. Hospices remain free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment.The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP), published on 30 June 2023, sets out the steps the National Health Service and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. Commitments in the LTWP to increase the healthcare workforce will benefit a range of providers, including those that deliver palliative and end of life care services.

Dementia: Health Services

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if her Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility to people with dementia of the assessment process for NHS Continuing Healthcare.

Helen Whately: Eligibility for CHC is not determined by age, diagnosis or condition, or financial means; it is assessed on a case-by-case basis considering the totality of an individual’s needs. This ensures a person-centred approach to CHC, whereby the individual is placed at the centre of the assessment and care-planning process. We continue to work with our partners, including NHS England who is responsible for oversight of CHC delivery, external organisations, and people with lived experience, to seek feedback on CHC policy and implementation.

Primary Health Care: Standards

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to improve (a) NHS 111 online and (b) other NHS digital services to help enable self-care of minor, self-treatable ailments.

Helen Whately: NHS England is leading a range of improvements to NHS 111 online. During 2023, NHS England has improved guidance for self-assessment management, offering users various options to manage their health concerns without the need for triage or assessment. This includes providing information on prescriptions or medication, mental health services, assistance with pre-existing conditions, direction to dental care services and signposting to self-care information for users with concerns about their blood pressure, premenstrual syndrome, or menopause symptoms. NHS 111 online also provides pathways to pharmacy for treatment and advice where appropriate.NHS 111 online is now fully integrated into the NHS app, making it easier for users to get the help they need. 12% of all 111 online completed sessions are now generated by NHS App users.

Palliative Care

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help ensure that patients in receipt of palliative care services are able to contact a health professional at any time.

Helen Whately: As part of the Health and Care Act 2022, palliative care services were specifically added to the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission.NHS England published statutory guidance and service specifications for ICBs on palliative and end of life care, setting out the considerations for boards to meet their legal duties. The guidance and specifications make specific reference to commissioners defining how their services will meet population needs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Dementia: Nurses

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department is taking steps to work with Dementia UK to increase the number of Admiral nurses.

Helen Whately: Provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). NHS England would expect ICBs to commission services, which may include Admiral Nurses, based on local population needs. “The Dementia Care Pathway: Full implementation guidance”, was commissioned by NHS England. This document urges commissioners to engage in local system leadership and develop an improvement agenda jointly with key partners including health and social care providers, local government and the voluntary sector with the aim of improving the health and wellbeing of the whole population. The Department is not taking any specific steps to increase the number of Admiral Nurses, who are developed and supported by Dementia UK as an independent charitable organisation.

Community Diagnostic Centres

Julie Marson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress she has made on increasing the number of community diagnostic centres.

Victoria Atkins: Thanks to the hard work of NHS teams, the government is on track to not only meet our ambition of opening 160 community diagnostic centres more broadly across England by March 2025, but to exceed it.This will represent a step change in how diagnostics is deployed in the UK and directly supports our agenda to make access to health services faster for patients.136 centres are currently operational, and over 5 million additional tests have been delivered since July 2021. This includes the centre in my honourable friends’ constituency, Bishop’s Stortford CDC.I am pleased to endorse the Hon. Members' welcome of the new CDC. Bishops Stortford CDC has been delivering tests and checks to patients since Sept this year.

Melatonin: Licensing

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there are license applications for melatonin gummy products being processed as of 23 November 2023.

Andrew Stephenson: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency can confirm that there are currently no licensed melatonin gummy products. However, we are unable to confirm or deny whether we have received or are progressing a Marketing Authorisation Application for melatonin gummies as this information is commercially sensitive.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time was for a referral to child and adolescent mental health services in (a) Lewisham Deptford constituency, (b) London and (c) England in the latest period for which data is available.

Maria Caulfield: We are investing at least £2.3 billion of additional funding a year by March 2024 compared to 2018/19 to expand and transform mental health services in England so that two million more people, including 345,000 children and young people, can get the mental health support they need. Our record investment in mental health has seen spending on children and young people’s mental health services increase from £841 million in 2019/20 to just over £1 billion in 2022/23. Information on the average waiting time1 for a referral to child and adolescent mental health services for the reporting period July to September 2023 is in the following table: Information is not available at constituency level. AreaMedian waiting time between referral start date and first contact in days for referrals for under 18s supported through NHS funded mental health with a first contact in the reporting periodMedian waiting time between referral start date and first contact in days for referrals for under 18s supported through NHS funded mental health still waiting for a first contact and still waiting at the end of the reporting periodEngland19170London223131Lewisham local authority60185Source: Mental Health Services Data Set, NHS England   1 The wait time in days is calculated as the difference between the date the referral was made to the date the patient attended their first contact in relation to the referral. The information includes people with an open referral for suspected autism and anyone with a referral that was either discharged during the reporting period or has no discharge date submitted regardless of whether they had a first care contact during the year or not.2 The following local authorities have been included in the London grouping: Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Camden, City of London, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth and Westminster.

Bereavement Counselling

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment has she made of the availability of bereavement services for (a) adults and (b) children and young people.

Maria Caulfield: We strongly encourage anyone struggling with their bereavement, no matter how long after loss, to contact their general practitioner who can help provide support, signpost to specialist bereavement support charities, or make a referral to a counsellor.In May, we updated GOV.UK’s Tell us Once service to give more prominence to webpages signposting to bereavement support.To support children and young people in education settings to respond effectively, the Department for Education is offering a grant to all state schools and colleges in England to train a senior mental health lead who can put in place an effective approach to mental health and wellbeing in their setting. An integral part of this approach is ensuring there are robust processes for identifying students or specific groups, which may include bereaved pupils, who need additional mental health support.

Liver Diseases: Death

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the finding on p.134 of the Chief Medical Officer’s annual report, published on 10 November 2023, that deaths due to alcohol-related liver disease increased 87% between 2001 and 2021.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department has an existing agenda to tackle alcohol harms, including alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD). Continued alcohol consumption is the main risk for dying of ARLD. However, damage to a person’s liver can be effectively halted if it is identified early and there is an intervention to change the course of their disease. The most effective way to prevent ARLD is drinking within the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines, namely under 14 units per week.The Department is supporting people who drink above low-risk levels to reduce their alcohol consumption, by encouraging substitution of standard-strength drinks with no- and low-alcohol alternatives. The Department’s consultation on updating labelling guidance for no- and low-alcohol alternatives closed on 23 November 2023 and a response will be published in due course.As part of the NHS Health Check, information on alcohol consumption is provided to support people to make healthier choices. NHS Health Check guidance recommends that those identified to be drinking at higher-risk levels are referred for liver investigation.The Department is also supporting people with alcohol dependency through the Drug Strategy and NHS Long Term Plan by facilitating more people in need of treatment into local authority commissioned alcohol treatment services. Additional treatment and recovery funding, made available through the Drug Strategy, can also be used to increase capacity for screening for liver fibrosis in treatment settings and to establish effective referral pathways into treatment for liver disease.

Dental Services: North Devon

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the NHS dentistry backlog in North Devon constituency.

Andrea Leadsom: In the South-West, NHS England have commissioned additional urgent dental care appointments that people can access via NHS 111.They have also implemented a new pathway called stabilisation dental care to support those who do not have access to a regular dentist but require non-urgent dental care.

Question

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to increase the availability of NHS dentistry services.

Andrea Leadsom: Our dental reforms of last July aimed to make NHS work more attractive to dental practices and improve access for patients.We have seen improvements to access. We have seen 23% more Courses of Treatment delivered to patients in 2022-23 compared to the previous year, and the number seen by an NHS dentist has also increased from 2021-22.I held a roundtable with MPs last week and am aware of the challenges still being faced by many. We will publish the dental recovery plan as soon as possible.

Infant Foods

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the value of Healthy Start vouchers for the purchase of baby formula.

Andrea Leadsom: The value of the Healthy Start is kept under continuous review. From April 2021, the value of the Healthy Start increased from £3.10 to £4.25, providing additional support to pregnant women and families on lower incomes to make healthy food choices.Healthy Start can be used to buy, or be put towards the cost of, fresh, frozen, or tinned fruit and vegetables, fresh, dried and tinned pulses, milk and infant formula. Healthy Start beneficiaries are also eligible for free Healthy Start Vitamins.There are currently no plans to increase the value of Healthy Start.

Brain: Tumours

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help ensure that brain tumour patients have access to whole genome sequencing; and what estimate she has made of the proportion of patients who are diagnosed each year having the whole genome of their tumours sequenced.

Andrew Stephenson: Genomic testing for patients with a suspected brain tumour, including glioblastoma, is included in the National Genomic Test Directory. This testing can be delivered using a range of technologies, including whole genome sequencing (WGS) or Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology (large cancer gene panels) to ensure that a patient receives the most appropriate genomic testing depending on their individual circumstances. Anyone who meets the eligibility criteria outlined in the National Genomic Test Directory will be able to access this genomic testing offer.Patients with a suspected brain tumour, including glioblastoma, receive standard of care testing via an NGS cancer panel for this clinical indication. In total, between April 2021 and September 2023, over 179,500 NGS panel tests have been performed, for all cancer clinical indications.Since the WGS service was launched for paediatric patients in November 2020 and adult patients in April 2022, in addition to standard of care testing, as of 1 December 2023, 533 patients have received WGS because of a suspected brain tumour.

Dementia: Research

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress her Department has made on the dementia moonshot project.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government is strongly committed to supporting research into dementia. In 2019, we committed to double funding for dementia research. We will double funding for dementia research to £160 million per year by 2024/25. The Government spent over £413 million on dementia research from 2017/18 to 2021/22.On 14 August 2023, the Government launched the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission, along with £95 million of funding. The Mission is part of the commitment to double dementia research funding. The Dementia Mission aims to speed up the development of new treatments. On 20 March 2023, we announced the appointment of two co-chairs of the mission, Hilary Evans of Alzheimer’s Research UK and Nadeem Sarwar of Novo Nordisk. The Mission Chairs have developed a roadmap that sets out their ambition to work with industry and other initiatives in the United Kingdom by developing innovations in biomarkers, data and digital sciences, and increasing the number and speed of clinical trials in dementia. In the Autumn Statement the Chancellor announced up to £20 million of funding to launch a Clinical Trial Delivery Accelerator, focused on dementia. This funding contributes to meeting the commitment to double dementia research spend to £160 million per year by 2024/25.

Dementia: Research

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to support research into dementia care.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government is strongly committed to supporting research into dementia. In 2019, we committed to double funding for dementia research to £160 million per year by 2024/25. This will span all areas of research, including dementia care to enable the best possible care and quality of life for people with dementia. The Department funds dementia research via the National Institute for Health & Care Research (NIHR).The Department, via the NIHR, is taking steps to increase research on dementia care, such as commissioning a Dementia and Neurodegeneration Policy Research Unit (PRU) worth £6 million to further boost evidence for policymaking. The PRU’s remit will cover research seeking to further understanding around how to improve post-diagnostic care and support offered to people living with dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions, and their carers. The NIHR is investing £9 million to continue funding the Three Schools Dementia Programme which links public health, primary care and social care via our NIHR research schools, namely Schools for Social Care, Public Health and Primary Care Research. The Programme seeks to fund research to address key evidence gaps, including around how we can most effectively support and care for people living with dementia. For example, the Programme has supported several projects relating to dementia care such as the Pall-Dem care study which explores the integration of palliative care into dementia care to improve outcomes and experiences of people living with advanced dementia and their family caregivers.

Dementia: Research

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to increase research on the (a) prevention and (b) treatment of dementia.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government is strongly committed to supporting research into dementia. In 2019, we committed to double funding for dementia research to £160 million per year by 2024/25. This will span all areas of research, including prevention and treatment of dementia. The Department funds dementia research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The Department, via the NIHR, is taking several steps to increase research on the prevention and treatment of dementia, such as commissioning a Dementia and Neurodegeneration Policy Research Unit (PRU) worth £6 million to further boost evidence for policymaking. The PRU’s remit will cover research into policy interventions intended to reduce or prevent dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions. Alongside the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission, which is backed by £95 million worth of funding, NIHR is investing in the Dementia Translational Research Collaboration which seeks to significantly expand the UK’s early phase clinical trial capabilities in dementia. This seeks to support the Dementia Mission’s aim to speed up the development of new treatments for dementia.

Hospitals: Parking

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that NHS hospital car parking charges are proportionate.

Andrew Stephenson: The NHS Car Parking Guidance is clear that charges, where they exist, should be reasonable for the area.The Government has delivered on its commitment to ensure that free car parking is provided for those with greatest need. To begin with, the guidance includes disabled people who are holders of a valid Blue Badge attending hospital as a patient or visitor or otherwise employed by the hospital trust. Disabled patients and visitors receive free parking for the duration of their attendance at, or visit to, the hospital. Disabled employees receive free parking while at the hospital for purposes relating to their employment.It also includes frequent outpatient attenders where parking will be provided free to all outpatients who attend hospital for an appointment at least three times within a month and for an overall period of at least three months. A ‘month’ is defined as a period of 30 days.Additionally, it encompasses the parents of sick children staying overnight. The parent of a child in hospital overnight is a parent or guardian of a child or young person, under 18 years old, who is admitted as an inpatient at hospital overnight. They receive free parking between the hours of 7.30pm and 8.00am while visiting the child. This would apply to a maximum of two vehicles.Lastly, the policy also caters for staff working night shifts who are members of staff with a shift starting after 7.30pm and ending before 8.00am. They receive free parking for the duration of their shift.All National Health Service trusts that charge for hospital car parking have implemented this policy.

GP Practice Lists: Bradford East

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of patients registered at each (a) Main Practice and (b) Branch Surgery in Bradford East constituency are aged (i) zero to four, (ii) five to fourteen, (iii) 15 to 44, (iv) 45 to 64, (v) 65 to 74, (vi) 75 to 84 and (vii) 85 years and above.

Andrea Leadsom: The information is shown in the attached tables. This data is also available publicly at the following link:https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/general-practice-patientsattachment (xlsx, 21.3KB)

Air Ambulance Services: Standards

Sir James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions her Department has had with (a) hospitals in (i) Essex and (ii) Hertfordshire and (b) the Royal London Hospital on improving helicopter night landing availability.

Andrew Stephenson: We have had no such discussions. Decisions on the location of National Health Service Hospital Helicopter Landing Sites, including night landing capacity, are taken locally by NHS organisations consistent with their clinical services and patient needs.

Doctors: Training

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take steps to (a) increase time available for Supporting Professional Activities and (b) improve physical space for training doctors.

Andrew Stephenson: Following constructive discussions, the Department has made an offer regarding contractual changes for consultants. There are no changes to the time available for Supporting Professional Activities included in the offer. Talks with specialist, associate specialist, and specialty doctors are ongoing and we will not be commenting on areas under discussion at this time. As part of a deal agreed in 2018, £10 million was made available to National Health Service trusts to improve facilities for doctors in training, including educational space.

Prescriptions

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of how many and what proportion of repeat prescriptions are unused.

Andrew Stephenson: As identified in the National Overprescribing Review, published in September 2021, addressing overprescribing is a key area of opportunity for delivering greater value for money in medicines in the National Health Service, and it forms part of NHS England’s ongoing Medicines Value programme priorities. Evidence is limited but the review estimated that at least 10% of the total number of prescription items in primary care need not have been issued.The review report is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-overprescribing-review-report

Cancer: Staff

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to address regional inequalities in the NHS clinical oncology workforce.

Andrew Stephenson: Compared to last year, there are 77 or 4.9% more full-time equivalent doctors working in clinical oncology in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in England.On 10 January 2023, Health Education England, now NHS England, announced the creation of nearly 900 additional medical specialty training posts for this year, including 270 in the cancer and diagnostics programme. Many of the additional posts are specifically targeted to tackle health inequalities and help ensure training places are distributed fairly to best meet patients’ needs in all parts of England.

Dementia: Screening

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding screenings for lung cancer to also include screening for dementia.

Andrew Stephenson: No assessment has been made. The lung cancer screening programme is a targeted screening programme for people aged between 55 and 74 years old identified as being at high risk of lung cancer. Any proposals to modify a screening programme, such as adding an additional condition to it should be submitted via the UK National Screening Committee’s (UK NSC) annual call for topics and must be underpinned by published peer reviewed evidence that supports this targeted approach.The UK NSC has separately examined the evidence for dementia and made a recommendation in 2019 not to introduce this as a population screening programme. More information is available at the following link:https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/dementia/

Social Services: Staff

Miriam Cates: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress her Department has made on reforming the social care workforce.

Helen Whately: We are carrying out ambitious reforms for the care workforce to increase the supply and quality of social care.We will shortly be publishing the Care Workforce Pathway setting out a career path for care workers, together with launching a new care qualification and funding thousands of training places.

Health Services: Warwick and Leamington

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients have been waiting for 12 months or longer for NHS treatment in Warwick and Leamington constituency.

Andrew Stephenson: The information is not held in the format requested as it is not available at a constituency level.

Social Services: Labour Turnover and Recruitment

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to increase staff recruitment and retention in the adult social care sector.

Helen Whately: We have embarked on ambitious reforms for the care workforce, including a new career structure, creating new qualifications, and providing subsidised training places.In addition, through grant funding we have made almost £2 billion available to Local Authorities over this year and next with a particular focus on workforce pay, recruitment and retention.We have also relaunched the next phase of our “Made with Care” national recruitment campaign which promotes social care as a career.

Rare Diseases: Health Services

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing quarterly reports on progress made against the commitments set out in her Department's England Rare Diseases Action Plan 2023, last updated on 10 July 2023.

Andrew Stephenson: While there are no plans to publish quarterly reports on progress made against the commitments of England’s second Rare Diseases Action Plan 2023. We have committed to publishing action plans annually and England’s third Rare Diseases Action Plan will detail progress made in the past year. In addition, minutes of the eight weekly England Rare Diseases Framework Delivery Group meetings, where progress is monitored, are published to the UK Rare Disease Forum on-line platform and the UK Rare Diseases Forum receives updates on progress across the four nations at its quarterly meetings.

Cancer: Waiting Lists

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to improve waiting times for cancer treatment in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.

Andrew Stephenson: Reducing cancer treatment waiting times is a priority for this Government. The Department is working jointly with NHS England on implementing the delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlogs in elective care. The Government plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help drive up and protect elective activity, including cancer diagnosis and treatment activity.In the 2023/24 Operational Planning Guidance, NHS England announced it is providing over £390 million in cancer service development funding to Cancer Alliances in each of the next two years to support delivery of the strategy and the operational priorities for cancer which includes increasing and prioritising diagnostic and treatment capacity for cancer.Additionally, the Government recently published the Major Conditions Strategy Case for Change and Our Strategic Framework on 14 August 2023 which sets out our approach to making the choices over the next 5 years that will deliver the most value in facing the health challenges of today and of the decades ahead, including for cancer.

Cancer: Young People

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to increase (a) early diagnosis of and (b) access to treatment for young people with cancer.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department is taking steps in England to tackle cancer in young people by increasing early diagnosis and boosting access to treatment.Improving early diagnosis is essential for young people with cancer. The National Health Service in England is working to deliver the ambition set in its Long Term Plan to diagnose 75% of cancers at stages one and two by 2028. This is backed by £2.3 billion of funding to transform diagnostic services, with 135 new community diagnostic centres opened, giving millions of patients the chance to access quicker, more convenient checks. In addition, the NHS in England is expanding direct access to diagnostic scans across all general practices, helping general practitioners recognise cancer symptoms in young people, cutting waiting times and speeding up diagnosis.Ensuring all young people with cancer in England get access to ground-breaking treatment is vital. Treatment is provided at highly specialist Principal Treatment Centres, which manage care through multidisciplinary teams across diagnosis, treatment, and research. This means young people can get access to the best possible cutting-edge treatments and the latest clinical trials, including whole genome sequencing and precision personalised treatments. In July 2023, the Government announced a multi-year partnership agreement with the pharmaceutical giant BioNTech which will accelerate the company's clinical trials in the United Kingdom and could provide up to 10,000 patients with personalised cancer immunotherapies by 2030.

Cancer: Health Services

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of Radiologists’ 2022 Workforce Census, what assessment he has of the adequacy of the size of the NHS clinical oncology workforce.

Andrew Stephenson: In June 2023, NHS England published the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, which sets out the steps the National Health Service and its partners need to take to deliver a workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years.The Government is backing the plan with over £2.4 billion funding over the next five years to ensure additional education and training places. This is on top of increases to education and training investment, reaching a record £6.1 billion over the next two years.We are taking steps to build our cancer workforce. As of August 2023, there are currently over 1,600 full time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the speciality of clinical oncology in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England. This is over 70 or 4.9% more than last year, almost 300 or 22.1% more than 2019, and almost 630 or 61.9% more than in 2010.This includes 880 FTE consultants. This is 34 or 4.0% more than last year, almost 130 or 17.1% more than in 2019, and over 390 or 80.6% more than in 2010.

Prostate Cancer: Drugs

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NICE plans to amend its guidance on the treatment of locally advanced high-risk non-metastatic prostate cancer to recommend the use of abiraterone acetate in England.

Andrew Stephenson: Abiraterone is not licensed for the treatment of non-metastatic prostate cancer and has therefore not been appraised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for such use. NHS England is currently considering a clinical policy proposal for abiraterone as a treatment option for patients newly diagnosed with high risk, non-metastatic, hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, or in whom prostate cancer has relapsed after at least 12 months without treatment.NICE will consider the impact of NHS England’s work on its guideline on the diagnosis and management of prostate cancer in due course.

Spondyloarthritis

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department is taking steps to reduce waiting times for axial spondyloarthritis diagnosis.

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to incorporate training on axial spondyloarthritis as a core component of continuous professional development within primary care.

Andrew Stephenson: The Getting It Right First Time Rheumatology Programme is working to improve the early diagnosis of people with conditions such as axial spondyloarthritis. The programme published a national report on rheumatology in 2021, which makes a series of recommendations to support equitable and consistent access to diagnostic tests.The programme has also worked with the National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society to develop a pathway for axial spondyloarthritis to support clinicians to provide the best patient care and allow patients and commissioners to see what they can expect from a service.Additionally, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced a range of guidance to support early diagnosis of conditions such as axial spondyloarthritis. Its Quality Standard on spondyloarthritis [QS170] sets out that adults with suspected axial or peripheral spondyloarthritis should be referred to a rheumatologist. Quality Standards are important in setting out to patients, the public, commissioners, and providers what a high-quality service should look like in a particular area of care. Whilst providers and commissioners must have regard to NICE Quality Standards in planning and delivering services, they do not provide a comprehensive service specification and are not mandatory.General practitioners are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge remains up-to-date and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development. This activity should include taking account of new research and developments in guidance, such as that produced by NICE, to ensure that they can continue to provide high quality care to all patients.

Glioblastoma

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of (a) clinical trials and (b) other treatment options for glioblastoma.

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure that NICE clinical guidelines on Brain tumours (primary) and brain metastases in over 16s reflects the latest data from clinical trials on (a) diagnosis and (b) management of patients.

Andrew Stephenson: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based guidelines for the National Health Service on best practice based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. NICE keeps its guidelines under review and uses the best available evidence to develop its recommendations. Its surveillance programme proactively explores whether there is any new evidence to contradict, reinforce or clarify its guideline recommendations.NICE’s guideline on brain tumours and brain metastases in people aged 16 years old or over was most recently updated in 2021 and makes recommendations on the management of grade IV gliomas. The NHS is expected to take NICE guidelines fully into account in ensuring that services meet the needs of their local populations.In May 2018, the Government announced £40 million for brain tumour research as part of the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research. This includes funding for glioblastoma research.

NHS: Drugs

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing quarterly updates on data that helps illustrate the levels of utilisation of her Department's access initiatives including the (a) Innovative Medicines Fund, (b) Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway and (c) Early Access to Medicines Scheme.

Andrew Stephenson: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency already publishes updates on the use of the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway and the Early Access to Medicines Scheme. NHS England plans to publish similar quarterly updates for the Innovative Medicine Fund as are published for the Cancer Drugs Fund.

Polatuzumab Vedotin

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her Department's planned timescale is for the rollout of the drug Polivy through the NHS.

Andrew Stephenson: The NHS in England is legally required to make funding available for medicines recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), usually within three months of final guidance. For cancer medicines, funding is available through the Cancer Drugs Fund from the point NICE issues positive draft guidance.NICE published guidance in September 2020 that recommends polatuzumab vedotin (Polivy) with rituximab and bendamustine for treating relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. NICE also published guidance in March 2023 that recommends polatuzumab vedotin with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and prednisolone (R‑CHP) for untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma subject to specified clinical criteria. It is therefore routinely available as a treatment option for eligible National Health Service patients with these conditions, in line with NICE’s recommendations.

Bowel Cancer: Immunotherapy

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has taken recent steps to (a) increase the availability of and (b) support the rollout of new immunotherapy treatments for bowel cancer.

Andrew Stephenson: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service in England on whether medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources. NICE appraises all newly licensed medicines within their licensed indications and the NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE. Cancer medicines are eligible for funding from the Cancer Drugs Fund from the point of draft NICE guidance.NICE has already recommended several immunotherapies for bowel cancer, which are now available for the treatment of eligible NHS patients in line with NICE’s recommendations. These include including panitumumab, pembrolizumab, and nivolumab with ipilimumab. NICE is also due to start its appraisal of nivolumab for previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer with high microsatellite instability or mismatch repair deficiency in March 2024.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to implement the provisions of the NHS Long Term Plan on reducing waiting lists.

Andrew Stephenson: The NHS Long Term Plan was published in January 2019. Since then, we have faced the COVID-19 pandemic which put huge pressure on services that were unforeseen at the time, causing waiting lists for planned treatment to grow.In response to this, the National Health Service published the Delivery Plan for Tackling the COVID-19 Backlog of Elective Care in February 2022. The plan set out a clear vision for how the NHS will recover and expand elective services over the following three years, including cutting the longest waits for treatment, increasing elective activity and committing to delivering nine million additional treatments and diagnostic treatments.In July 2022, the NHS successfully met the first target in our plan to virtually eliminate waits of over two years, and thanks to the incredible work of NHS staff, waits of more than 18 months have been reduced by over 90%.

Trastuzumab Deruxtecan

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has had recent discussions with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on when it plans to conclude its appraisal of trastuzumab deruxtecan for treating HER2-low metastatic or unrespectable breast cancer after chemotherapy.

Andrew Stephenson: We have had no such discussions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently developing guidance for the National Health Service on trastuzumab deruxtecan for HER2-low metastatic or unresectable breast cancer after chemotherapy, and recently consulted on draft guidance that does not recommend it as a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources. NICE will carefully consider comments received in response to the consultation in developing its final guidance, which is currently expected to be published in January 2024.

Mental Health Services: Veterans

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full time equivalent employees of her Department work on the delivery of Op Courage.

Maria Caulfield: Op COURAGE is a bespoke National Health Service commissioned service for veterans, delivering a comprehensive mental health treatment pathway. The Department retains oversight of the service with 1.4 full time equivalent (FTE) supporting policy delivery on Armed Forces and Veterans Health.

Health Education: Internet

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to (a) increase digital health literacy and (b) ensure the adequacy of NHS vetting of health apps it is considering promoting to the public.

Andrew Stephenson: In September 2023, NHS England published a framework for action on digital inclusion to help the system design and implement inclusive digital approaches and technologies, including actions to build digital skills and capability among patients and National Health Service staff. Patients unable to use digital channels will continue to be able to access services via telephone and through traditional face to face services.Health apps that are considered for public promotion should be assessed against the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria. This includes review of clinical safety, information governance, cyber security, interoperability and usability and accessibility. In addition, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has developed an Early Value Assessment, to assess digital health technologies, including apps, for clinical effectiveness.

Clinical Commissioning Groups and Integrated Care Boards: Expenditure

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what total health spending was in each (a) integrated care board in the most recent year for which data is available and (b) clinical commissioning group in each year since 1997.

Andrew Stephenson: The available expenditure data for integrated care boards and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) since their creation in 2013 is shown in the attached table. Data is unavailable for the financial year 2022/23 as the National Audit Office’s annual statutory audit of NHS England is not yet complete. The Department does not hold data before 2013 in the format requested.It should also be noted that as the number and commissioning responsibilities of the CCGs changed during the period for which data has been provided, expenditure levels may not be directly comparable year-on-year.Total Health Spending  (xlsx, 44.9KB)

Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry’s publication entitled At the crossroads: how a new UK medicines deal can deliver for patients, the NHS and the economy, published on 1 March 2023, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of that publication's proposals to lower the tax rebate for the voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department carefully considers all evidence in the public domain on matters relating to the pricing of medicines in the United Kingdom, including the March report by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). The Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG) has been agreed in principle with ABPI and is set to save the National Health Service £14 billion over 5 years in medicines costs. VPAG introduces a new mechanism to ensure sustainable spending on older medicines where competition hasn’t yet driven down prices, and is an explicitly pro-innovation and pro-competition agreement.

Tobacco: Sales

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of the proposed generational smoking ban on police expenditure related to the implementation of that ban.

Andrea Leadsom: As is the case with existing age of sale legislation for tobacco products, breaches of the new law will be dealt with by local authority trading standards rather than by police forces.To ensure the law is enforced, the Government is providing an additional £30 million a year for enforcement agencies to support work on underage and illicit sales of tobacco products and vapes.

Veterans: Mental Health Services

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help support the (a) mental health and (b) well-being of veterans' families.

Maria Caulfield: All members of the Armed Forces Community, including veterans’ families, can access mainstream mental health support services in the National Health Service. The Government is investing at least an additional £2.3 billion a year, as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, in expanding and transforming NHS mental health services by 2023/24. This will allow an extra two million people to get the NHS-funded mental health support they need.In addition, NHS England has commissioned eight Op COMMUNITY pilots within NHS integrated care systems to provide a single point of contact based in local integrated care systems for Armed Forces community families and help support those who have recently moved into the area and need to transfer their care. This includes support to access mental health services.

Long Covid: Research

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to increase funding for biomedical research on long covid.

Maria Caulfield: For long COVID, research and scientific evidence is pivotal in shaping our understanding of causes and effects for individuals and the population. Over £50 million has already been invested in long COVID research projects to improve our understanding of the diagnosis and underlying mechanisms of the disease and the effectiveness of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies and interventions, as well as to evaluate clinical care.The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including long COVID. The Medical Research Council also funds biomedical research into long COVID. It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.

Mental Health Act 1983

Sarah Dyke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it remains Government policy to reform the Mental Health Act 1983.

Maria Caulfield: It remains our intention to bring forward a Mental Health Bill when Parliamentary time allows.I am incredibly grateful to the Joint Committee on the Draft Mental Health Bill as well as the many experts who have generously given their time.We will continue to take forward non-legislative commitments to improve the care and treatment of people detained under the Act, including piloting models of Culturally Appropriate Advocacy. These will provide tailored support to people from ethnic minority communities and improve their experience of being treated under the Mental Health Act.

Mental Health Services: Children

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people under the age of 18 have been waiting over a year to access CAHMS support in Mid Bedfordshire constituency.

Maria Caulfield: We are investing at least £2.3 billion of additional funding a year by March 2024 compared to 2018/19 to expand and transform mental health services in England so that two million more people, including 345,000 children and young people, can get the mental health support they need.The following table shows the number of children and young people aged between zero and 17 years old referred to specialist children and young people’s mental health services and waiting more than 365 days for a first contact at the end of August 2023:District AuthorityNumberCentral Bedfordshire100Bedford60Luton50Source: Mental Health Services Dataset, NHS EnglandNotes:Figures are rounded to the nearest five.Data is provided for district authorities in Bedfordshire as it is not collected at constituency level.

Obesity: Children

Christian Wakeford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce childhood obesity.

Andrea Leadsom: Regulations on out of home calorie labelling for food sold in large businesses, including restaurants, cafes, and takeaways, came into force in April 2022. Restrictions on the placement of products high in fat, sugar or salt in key selling locations, came into force on 1 October 2022. We will be implementing restrictions on the sale of less healthy products by volume price such as ‘buy one get one free’ or ‘3 for 2’ and will introduce restrictions on the advertising of less healthy products before 9pm on TV and paid for less healthy product advertising online. We are also working with the food industry to ensure it is easier for the public to make healthier choices and make further progress on reformulation. In addition, we are supporting more than three million children through the Healthy Foods Schemes and helping schools boost physical activity to help children maintain a healthy weight and good overall health through the Primary School PE and Sport Premium and the School Games Organiser Network.

General Practitioners: Bradford

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GP appointments were recorded in (a) Bradford District and (b) Craven in each month from September 2021 to September 2023.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of GP appointments in (a) Bradford District and (b) Craven took place (i) on the same day as, (ii) one day after, (ii) two to seven days after, (iv) eight to fourteen days after and (v) 15 or more days after booking between September 2021 to September 2023.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of patients with a GP appointment booked further appointments after (a) 14 days or less, (b) 15 to 28 days and (c) 29 to 56 days since June 2023.

Andrea Leadsom: The data is not held in the format requested. Appointment numbers and the estimated time between an appointment being booked and taking place are published at practice level but not aggregated to council or electoral ward level.In addition, appointment data is not collected centrally for individual patients. The GP practice will be the source of that data.

Blood: Screening

Nicola Richards: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 23 February 2023 to Question 147435 on HIV Infection: Screening, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of opt-out blood-borne virus testing in ambulance and emergency departments in areas with a high prevalence of HIV in London.

Andrea Leadsom: NHS England has committed £20 million between 2022 and 2025 to fund the expansion of HIV opt-out testing in accident and emergency (A&E) departments in areas with extremely high HIV prevalence. To further maximise the opportunity afforded by the funding for HIV opt-out testing, NHS England decided to implement a combined blood borne viruses (BBV) approach to include Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C testing alongside HIV. The NHS England London region took a decision to include all A&E departments in London the project, some of which were high HIV prevalence areas.Data from NHS England indicates that this BBV opt-out testing initiative has helped find more than 900 people unaware they are living with HIV, or not accessing HIV care and over 2500 people living with, or not accessing care for Hepatitis B and over 1000 people living with or not accessing care for Hepatitis C during the first 18 months of the programme.On 9 November 2023, the UK Health Security Agency published an evaluation of the first year of the BBV opt-out testing in A&E departments in local areas with extremely high HIV prevalence. Findings show that the programme has made a significant contribution to BBV testing in England with more than half the number of tests done in the programme compared to BBV tests in other settings.After careful consideration of the available evidence, the Government has now also committed £20 million to fund new research, commissioned through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), that will involve an expansion and evaluation of BBV opt out testing in a further 47 emergency departments, in high prevalence HIV areas across England (2 or more HIV cases per 1,000 residents). Funding will support 12 months of testing for each emergency department, to begin during the next financial year.

Dental Services: Warwick and Leamington

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the ratio of NHS dentists to adults is in Warwick and Leamington constituency.

Andrea Leadsom: The information requested is not held centrally at constituency level. There were 48.4 dentists delivering National Health Service activity per 100,000 persons in Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board in 2022/23, which equates to one dentist per 2,067 persons.

Pharmacy

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to support the introduction of the hub and spoke model for pharmacy.

Andrea Leadsom: We are committed to pursuing legislative changes to level the playing field and enable all community pharmacies to make use of hub and spoke dispensing arrangements. We consulted on this last year and are currently finalising a response to the consultation, with our aim being to publish this as soon as possible.

Social Prescribing

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many social prescribing link workers are working within local communities as of 27 November 2023.

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of building social prescribing into long term condition pathways.

Andrea Leadsom: As of September 2023, there were 3,599 full-time equivalent social prescribing link workers employed by primary care networks, working within local communities. There are similar roles commissioned locally and delivered through local authorities and/or the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector. There is not a central measure in place for this workforce. The Major Condition’s Strategy case for change and strategic framework, published in August, set out the need to ensure the health and care system can take a holistic approach to mental and physical health, supporting people to live well, maximising opportunities for recovery and rehabilitation where possible, and supporting people to manage their own health both through prevention and ongoing management. As part of this, it identified significant possibilities in developing our approach to social prescribing, and we will be exploring this further as part of the development of the final Major Conditions Strategy.

Social Prescribing

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make it her policy to maintain the requirement for every primary care network to provide a social prescribing service in the next GP contract and Primary Care Network Direct Enhanced Service specification.

Andrea Leadsom: As per the commitment set out in the Changes to the GP Contract in 2023/24, we have engaged the profession, patients, integrated care systems, and other key stakeholders over the summer via an Expert Advisory Group, to inform the future general practitioner contract. Changes to the 2024/25 contract are subject to consultation with the British Medical Association General Practitioners Committee.To meet the ambitions for social prescribing as set out in the NHS Long Term Plan we are continuing to roll out social prescribing link workers across the National Health Service and have exceeded the first target of 1,000 link workers by March 2021. As of September 2023, there were 3,599 full-time equivalent link workers in place.

Food: Standards

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to maintain UK food standards.

Andrea Leadsom: Food law provides a robust framework that protects public health and consumer interests and requires food businesses that produce, process, and distribute food to apply food safety controls that ensure food they place on the market is safe and is what it says it is. United Kingdom food standards are maintained through enforcement of official controls predominantly by local authorities.Joint reports produced by the UK’s food safety bodies, the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland, show that food standards across the UK remained stable in 2021 and 2022 despite multiple challenges to the food system.These reports use data and evidence gathered from activities undertaken to protect the consumer, such as targeted surveillance sampling to monitor the safety and authenticity of food and disruptions to criminal activity through the National Food Crime Unit.

Tobacco: Sales

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions the Government has had with Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers on the introduction of a generational ban on the sale of cigarettes.

Andrea Leadsom: Smoking is responsible for approximately 80,000 deaths a year in the United Kingdom and causes around one in four cancer deaths in the UK. It also costs our country £17 billion a year and puts a huge burden on the National Health Service.This is why the Government is planning to create a smokefree generation by bringing forward legislation so that children turning 14 years old or younger this year will never be legally sold tobacco products. On 12 October 2023, we launched a UK-wide consultation to gather views on these proposals and their implementation.Whilst we have not met specifically with the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers, we have, and will continue to, speak to the retail sector and their associations to help develop our policies.

Dementia: Rural Areas

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to support people with dementia in rural areas.

Helen Whately: Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision of dementia care services. NHS England expects ICBs to commission services based on local population needs.NHS England has commissioned the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities Dementia Intelligence Network to investigate the underlying variation in dementia diagnosis rates. This includes the assessment of underlying population characteristics such as rurality and socio-economic deprivation. The aim of this work is to provide context for variation and enable targeted investigation and provision of support at a local level to enhance diagnosis rates.

Domestic Accidents

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps her Department has taken to help reduce the number of trips and falls through (a) early interventions and (b) home visiting.

Helen Whately: Falls constitute a common reason why people are admitted to hospital and can cause an escalation in people's care needs. The Government has now made up to £8.1 billion available over this year and next to strengthen adult social care provision, which will enable local authorities to increase the number of care packages available to support people to live safely and independently at home.In addition, a range of work focusses more specifically on falls prevention. In April 2023, the Department launched the Adult Social Care Technology Fund to test, evaluate, and scale technologies, including those that are shown to reduce falls. The publication Next steps to put People at the Heart of Care announced a further £102 million over two years for housing adaptation support, in addition to the £573 million per year already available through the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG). The DFG helps around 50,000 eligible people in England each year to make their homes safe and suitable for their needs and includes the reduction of trips and falls through the installation of stairlifts, level-access showers and ramps.Community health services also play a vital role in supporting people requiring urgent care, or who are at risk of crisis, in the community or their own homes. Through the Urgent and Emergency Care services recovery plan published in January 2023, the National Health Service has committed to scaling up falls and frailty services based on learning from winter 2022/23, building on the success of the community-based falls response.

Shingles: Vaccination

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of changing NHS guidance to allow people aged between 65 and 70 on 1 September 2023 to have the shingles vaccination.

Maria Caulfield: The Government’s policy on groups eligible for vaccination programmes is based on the recommendations of the independent expert body, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and the scope and speed of any rollout is decided between UKHSA, the Department and the National Health Service.There are no plans to review the age criteria for the shingles vaccine roll out. The current policy is aligned with the expert advice of the JCVI and has enabled the shingles programme to offer a more effective vaccine to more people. As part of the changes the offer has increased to include more of those who are most vulnerable, including anyone who turned 65 before 1 September 2023.

GP Practice Lists: Learning Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure that all people with a learning disability are included on a GP learning disability register.

Maria Caulfield: Inclusion on the learning disability register is crucial to ensuring that people receive the right support at the right time. Anyone can ask to go on their general practitioner’s (GP’s) learning disability register if they think they have a learning disability. However, we know that not everyone with a learning disability is on a GP register. There is work underway in NHS England to address this issue, including work nationally and regionally to encourage children and young people to join the register at age 14 years old and access annual health checks.NHS England has issued guidance to support GPs to better identify people who should be on the register, including information on specific diagnostic codes, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/improving-identification-of-people-with-a-learning-disability-guidance-for-general-practice/

Mental Health Services: Children

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to ensure every child has access to a mental health professional (a) at school and (b) in the community.

Maria Caulfield: We are investing at least an additional £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24. This will allow an extra 345,000 more children and young people to get the National Health Service-funded mental health support they need.There are now almost 400 mental health support teams in place in schools and colleges across England so that more young people get mental health support. Mental health support teams now cover over three million children or around 35% of pupils in schools and colleges. We are aiming to increase this coverage to 50% by April 2025.There are currently around 65 locally funded early support hubs in England. These hubs are open to those aged between 11 and 25 years old and, importantly, they are for anyone who may not meet the threshold to receive NHS support. This means children and young people experiencing feelings of anxiety or stress will have a physical space to go to in their community when their problems first emerge without the need for a referral.On 25 October 2023, we announced £4.92 million of new funding to deliver and evaluate innovative mental health and wellbeing support for young people at 10 hub sites across England until the end of 2024/25. Bids are currently being considered and the ten successful hubs will be announced in due course.

Mental Health: Children and Young People

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an annual mental health and wellbeing review for (a) children and (b) young people.

Maria Caulfield: The Department for Education publishes this through its annual State of the nation reports on children and young people’s wellbeing. These reports are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/state-of-the-nation-reports-children-and-young-peoples-wellbeing

Non-surgical Cosmetic Procedures: Licensing

Mark Logan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to publish a response to the consultation on Licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures.

Maria Caulfield: We are currently analysing the responses to our consultation and will publish our response in the new year.

Hepatitis

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has had discussions with NHS England on the potential merits of (a) lowering the thresholds for initiation of treatment for chronic hepatitis B and (b) expanding opt-out testing for blood borne viruses in areas estimated to have high prevalence of chronic hepatitis B relative to the rest of the country.

Maria Caulfield: Management of care for patients with Hepatitis B (HBV) is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs). National clinical guidelines for monitoring HBV are published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.NHS England is identifying opportunities to build on the very successful programme to eliminate Hepatitis C by ensuring for example, that the Emergency Department opt-out testing programme, which has plans for expansion, includes testing for HBV as well as HIV and Hepatitis C.NHS England will continue to seek to identify opportunities to align elimination strategies wherever possible in partnership with ICBs, who can respond to local differences in HBV prevalence.

Health Services: Visual Impairment

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps with (a) the Royal National Institute of Blind People, (b) local sight loss councils and (c) other third sector organisations to undertake a review of the effectiveness of non-clinical support services for people living with sight loss.

Maria Caulfield: We do not currently have any such plans. Commissioning of sight loss services takes place at a local level based on the needs of the local population. As set out in the Care Act 2014, local authorities are responsible for assessing the care needs of individuals with sight loss and making steps to meet any eligible needs. Eligible needs are those which significantly impact on the individual’s wellbeing, for example, maintaining personal hygiene and nutrition. If a person does not meet the eligibility threshold, they can get support from their local authority in making their own arrangements for care services.

Cystic Fibrosis: Children

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to improve health outcomes for children with cystic fibrosis.

Andrew Stephenson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Rt. hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings on 17 November 2023 to Question 1009.

Community Diagnostic Centres

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans she has to publish a workforce strategy for the community diagnostic centre programme.

Andrew Stephenson: There are currently no plans to publish a diagnostic workforce strategy for the community diagnostic centre (CDC) programme. NHS England has a plan to ensure sufficient workforce capacity, including for CDCs, to enable workforce expansion with the right skills and roles, in the right locations and at the right time. In 2022/23, this resulted in over 4,300 new starters across the training pipeline for diagnostics and cancer.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2023 to Question 1512 on Prescriptions: Fees and Charges, what percentage of prescriptions are exempt from charges due to (a) Prescription Prepayment Certificates and (b) other reasons.

Andrew Stephenson: The NHS Business Services Authority collects data on the number of prescription items that are exempt from charges. 5% of prescription items are paid for at the point of dispensing. 95% of prescription items are exempt from charges, and within this figure 3% are covered by a Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC). The remaining 92% includes every item with an exempt category or “unknown” exemption category so may also include some PPC exemptions.

Heart Diseases: Health Education

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to raise awareness of early onset heart disease.

Andrew Stephenson: The NHS Health Check programme aims to prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some cases of dementia and kidney disease among healthy adults aged between 40 and 74 years old. It does this through earlier awareness, assessment and management of six of the top risk factors for cardiovascular disease: blood pressure, cholesterol, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and body mass index.This includes the recent Government announcement as part of International Men’s Health Day 2023 to establish a men’s health task force that will look at ways to engage men in their health and increase uptake of the NHS Health Check.

Patients: Travel

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS England's press release entitled Hundreds of thousands of NHS patients to be offered the chance to travel for treatment, published on 31 October 2023, if she will make an estimate of the number of patients that have been supported through the travel reimbursement scheme to access treatment further from home.

Andrew Stephenson: To support access to treatment at providers further afield, the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) is available and, for those not eligible for the HTCS, NHS England has requested that integrated care boards make appropriate provision to support patients with travel where necessary. Information on the number of patients supported through the travel reimbursement scheme is not held centrally.

Patients: Travel

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS England's press release entitled Hundreds of thousands of NHS patients to be offered the chance to travel for treatment, published on 31 October 2023, whether her Department has made an assessment of the demographics of patients who are most likely to benefit from the opportunity to travel for treatment; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of this policy on health inequalities.

Andrew Stephenson: While providers have notified patients of the opportunity to travel, the decision to request to move rests with the patient. We are therefore unable to assess the demographics of the patients who will benefit until they have responded.

Genomics: Babies

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the system readiness to introduce whole genome sequencing for newborns as part of the NHS.

Andrew Stephenson: The Generation Study is a research study that will evaluate the utility and feasibility of screening newborns for a larger number of childhood-onset rare genetic conditions in the National Health Service, using whole genome sequencing. Genomics England are working closely with the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) to ensure the research generates the right evidence to inform any potential screening recommendations by the UK NSC and commissioning decisions by the NHS. If the evidence from the study indicates that the use of whole genome sequencing in newborn screening is effective, meets the criteria set by the UK NSC and a positive recommendation is made by the UK NSC, health ministers in the United Kingdom will then decide if this recommendation should be accepted. In the meantime, the UK NSC continues to assess proposals for additional conditions for newborn screening as they are received.

Genomics

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress has been made on the NHS Generation Study.

Andrew Stephenson: Genomics England has established a set of four principles to determine which rare genetic conditions should be looked for as part of their research study. In October 2023, Genomics England published a list of over 200 conditions which will be screened for as part of the study. Recruitment to the study is due to begin in early 2024. Genomics England have been working with a group of National Health Service sites who will be among the first to recruit participants.

Pancreatic Cancer

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of (a) NHS treatment standards and (b) the adequacy of survival rates for people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Andrew Stephenson: Standards for service delivery covering both benign and malignant disease is set out in theNHS England’s Hepato-Pancreatic Biliary (HPB) service specification. With support and input from HPB cancer clinical experts and patient and public voice representatives, including Pancreatic Cancer UK, the service specification has recently been revised to reflect current care pathways and update references to national policy, guidance and guidelines, including guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. The revised specification is expected to be in use across the National Health Service in England by April 2024. Although no specific assessment has currently been made on the adequacy of the survival rates for people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the Government is committed to diagnosing 75% of stageable cancers at stage 1 & 2 by 2028. This threshold is key to improving outcomes and survival rates, including for people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Breast Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to improve the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of breast cancer.

Andrew Stephenson: Improving early diagnosis of cancer including breast cancer is a priority for the National Health Service. The NHS has an ambition to diagnose 75% of cancers at stage 1 or 2 by 2028, which will help tens of thousands of people live for longer. Additionally, the new cancer standards developed and supported by cancer doctors and implemented in October 2023 will ensure patients are diagnosed faster and treatment starts earlier. The NHS Cancer Programme has also commissioned five new cancer clinical audits including metastatic breast cancers. These will provide timely evidence for cancer service providers where patterns of care in England may vary, increase the consistency of access to treatments and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients. The Royal College of Surgeons began work on this audit in October 2022 with the first outcomes expected in 2024.In January 2022 we provided £10 million of funding for 28 new breast screening units and nearly 60 life-saving upgrades to services in the areas where they are most needed, so more women can be checked for signs of cancer, speeding up diagnosis and treatment.

Health Services

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, by which date in early 2024 her Department plans to publish the Major Conditions Strategy.

Andrew Stephenson: Following publication of the Strategic Framework, we will continue to develop the strategy, informed by the Call for Evidence and ongoing engagement. Our intention is to publish the Major Conditions Strategy in early 2024.

Respiratory Diseases: Screening

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the announcement on 26 June 2023, of a national lung screening programme, what proportion of the eligible population for targeted lung screening is already covered by the NHS targeted lung health check programme; by what date she plans to reach all the eligible population in Yorkshire; how the order of the programme rollout across England will be decided; and whether smoking cessation will be offered as an opt-out, integrated service in all lung screening appointments.

Andrew Stephenson: The Targeted Lung Health Checks currently reach approximately 15% of the eligible population. The programme will be fully rolled out by 2028. Within that time frame the pace of roll out is designed at a local level by the cancer alliances. Smoking cessation will be an integral part of the programme as recommended by the UK National Screening Committee and set out by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

Department for Education

Childcare: Lone Parents

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing provision of nursery places.

David Johnston: Childcare is a vital enabler for parents to work. That is why the department has announced a number of measures to support parents to return to and stay in work. This will be transformative for parents, children and the economy.By 2027/28, this government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.The department is providing over £4.1 billion by 2027/28 to fund 30 hours of free childcare per week (38 weeks per year) for working parents with children aged 9 months and above in England, from the term after they reach the relevant age (£1.7 billion in 2024/25, £3.3 billion in 2025/26, £4.1 billion in 2026/27, and £4.1 billion in 2027/28). This new offer will empower parents, allowing them to progress their careers and support their families.The department is ensuring a phased implementation of the expansion to the 30 hours offer to allow the market to develop the necessary capacity. A new national recruitment campaign is also being launched to support the recruitment and retention of talented staff to support the expansion of the 30 hours offer.The department is continuing to explore how to support the sector to deliver the additional places that will be required and to monitor the sufficiency of childcare places. The department’s Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey shows that the number of places available has remained broadly stable since 2019.The Office for Budget Responsibility believes that this policy will have a significant impact on potential economic output of any policy in the Spring 2023 Budget, estimating that 60,000 more parents will enter the workforce as a result of this policy, while many will increase their hours.

Schools: Concrete

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of providing additional funding to remove the presence of RAAC in schools.

Damian Hinds: Education is a devolved matter; and the response outlines the information for England only and not Northern Ireland.The department will always put the safety and wellbeing of children and staff in education settings at the heart of its policy decisions.The department will spend whatever it takes to keep pupils safe and is funding the emergency work needed to mitigate the presence of RAAC in school and college buildings in England, including installing alternative classroom space where necessary. Where schools and colleges in England need additional help with revenue costs, all reasonable requests are being approved.The department will also fund the removal of RAAC from the school and college estate in England. Schools and colleges in England will either be offered capital grants, or rebuilding projects where these are needed, including through the School Rebuilding Programme. The department will set out further details for affected schools and colleges in due course.Ministers and officials have regular discussions with colleagues from His Majesty’s Treasury on a range of issues. The department’s immediate support will be managed from unallocated departmental budgets. This will not have an impact on existing programmes. The department will provide further information about funding at relevant points in due course.The government has taken more proactive action to identify and mitigate RAAC in education settings than the devolved administrations in the UK, or indeed, governments overseas.

Special Educational Needs: Wellingborough

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of children with SEND who are (i) persistently absent and (ii) severely absent from school in Wellingborough constituency.

Damian Hinds: Information on pupil absence, including breakdowns by pupil characteristics, is published in the ‘Pupil absence in schools in England’ national statistic. The latest release, covering the autumn and spring terms of the 2022/23 academic year is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england. Data from the latest full academic year, 2021/22, is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england/2021-22.A pupil is classified as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of their possible sessions. A pupil is classified as severely absent if they miss 50% or more of their possible sessions.The table below shows the numbers and rates of persistently absent and severely absent pupils in Wellingborough parliamentary constituency by special educational need status for the latest full academic year available, 2021/22. Persistent absenteesPersistent absentee %Severe absenteesSevere absentee %No identified SEN12,75421.61791.4SEN Support54830.1713.9Statement or EHCP216729.9223.9Source: School Census.1 Special Educational Need2 Education, Health and Care Plan.This table excludes a small number of pupils with unclassified SEN status.

Children in Care: Wellingborough

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of care experienced 16 and 17 year olds who have been placed in unregistered accommodation in Wellingborough constituency in the last 12 months.

David Johnston: ​​The department does not collect data by Parliamentary constituency area.​The latest information on children in looked after placements, relating to the year ending 31 March 2023, was published on 16 November 2023 in the annual statistical release ‘Children looked after in England including adoptions’ at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions.

Children in Care: Wellingborough

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of looked after children raised in Wellingborough constituency who are placed (a) outside of the local authority area and (b) 20 miles or more from the local authority area as of 30 November 2023.

David Johnston: ​​The department does not collect this data by Parliamentary constituency area.​The available data relates to local authority level. The latest data on looked after children relates to 31 March 2023 and was published on 16 November 2023 in the annual statistical release ‘Children looked after in England including adoptions’, and is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions.​

Childcare: Wellingborough

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the availability of childcare places in Wellingborough constituency.

David Johnston: The department continually monitors the sufficiency of childcare in North Northamptonshire. The department has regular contact with them, and all other local authorities in England, about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing.The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children.Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the ‘Early education and childcare’ statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities are required to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents.Where North Northamptonshire reports any sufficiency challenges, the department discusses what action the local authority is taking to address those issues, and where needed, supports them with any specific requirements through its childcare sufficiency support contract.   ​​

Adoption: Standards

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with local authorities to reduce the time taken to adopt children in the care system.

David Johnston: The government is providing £19.5 million between 2022/2025 to regional adoption agencies to develop high-quality adoption services so that children waiting to be adopted can be placed with a loving family as quickly as possible. This includes £5 million dedicated to developing national matching activities that will help speed up the process of matching adopters with children. In addition, £1.5 million is being used for national campaigns to recruit the adopters needed who are willing to take the children who wait the longest to be adopted. The department has seen a decrease since 2020 in waiting times for those children who wait the longest. Those who wait 18 months since placement order have dropped from 390 in 2020 to 250 in 2023.The full range of work is set out in the government’s national adoption strategy, ‘Achieving Excellence Everywhere’, which was published in 2021. The strategy can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adoption-strategy-achieving-excellence-everywhere.

Universities: Mental Health Services

George Eustice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 November 2023 to Question 149 on Universities: Mental Health Services, what information her Department holds on the (a) number and (b) proportion of universities that have amended their practices in line with the recommendations in her Department's letter.

Robert Halfon: It is a priority for this government that students are provided with the mental health support they need. The opportunity to enter, thrive and graduate from university should be open to everyone with the ability to do so. To achieve this, the department is taking an approach based on three pillars:Funding vital services and innovative projects via the Office for Students, with £15 million allocated for the 2023/24 academic year to support students starting university for the first time and enable effective partnerships between higher education (HE) providers and local NHS services. £3.6 million was invested to launch Student Space in 2020 and it has since provided over 450,000 students with free online mental health resources and confidential support.Spreading and implementing best practice consistently across providers.Clear responsibilities for providers and protection for students, with solutions developed by the HE Student Support Champion, Professor Edward Peck.On 5 June 2023, the department wrote to all higher education providers asking for their strongest possible commitment to the mental health of our students, including by showing ownership of mental health at an executive level. The department has set a target for all universities to sign up to Student Minds’ University Mental Health Charter Programme by September 2024 so that they take a whole-university approach to mental health and wellbeing and follow the principles set out in the Charter. This programme is about continuous improvement from universities so that standards are raised within the sector.61 universities had joined the programme by the 2022/23 academic year. Following the 5 June 2023 letter, nine HE providers wrote back to the department on action being taken to improve practice. A significant number of universities then applied to the Charter Programme during the summer 2023 application window. The programme has seen a greater than 50% increase in membership and now has 96 members for the 2023/24 academic year. The full list of members is available at: https://hub.studentminds.org.uk/charter-programme-members-23-24/.The Higher Education Mental Health Taskforce is looking at the application of best practice among HE providers. The Taskforce will deliver a final report by May 2024 and will provide an update ahead of that early in 2024.I continue to raise the value of Charter Programme membership with universities and sector representatives and hosted a roundtable on the mental health of students with university leaders at Leeds Trinity University on 23 November 2023. This roundtable addressed the important role that executive leadership have in setting the culture and practice around wellbeing for students on campus. We also confirmed at this roundtable that the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health, a renowned centre of expertise on suicide prevention, will lead the National Review of HE Suicides. This will ensure lessons from tragic instances of student suicide are shared widely across the sector.This roundtable followed a speech I delivered at the UUK Mental Health Conference on 21 November 2023 where I asked the sector to come together and finish the job of embedding best practice.

Schools: Concrete

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made a recent estimate of the total amount of funding that will be required to support schools affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Damian Hinds: The department will always put the safety and wellbeing of children and staff in education settings at the heart of its policy decisions.The department will spend what it takes to keep pupils safe and is funding the emergency work needed to mitigate the presence of RAAC in school and college buildings in England, including installing alternative classroom space where necessary. Where schools and colleges in England need additional help with revenue costs, all reasonable requests are being approved.The department will also fund the removal of RAAC from the school and college estate in England. Schools and colleges in England will either be offered capital grants to fund refurbishment work to permanently remove RAAC, or rebuilding projects where these are needed, including through the school rebuilding programme. The department will set out further details for affected schools and colleges in due course.The department’s immediate support will be managed from unallocated departmental budgets. This will not have an impact on existing programmes. The department will provide further information about funding at relevant points in due course.This government has taken more proactive action to identify and mitigate RAAC in education settings than the devolved administrations in the UK, or indeed, governments overseas.

Office for Students

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many times she has met the Office for Students in 2023.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her most recent meeting with the Office for Students was.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many times she has met the Director of Free Speech of the Office for Students since his appointment.

Robert Halfon: The Secretary of State met with Susan Lapworth, CEO of the Office for Students (OfS), and Lord Wharton, Chair of the OfS on 25 January 2023.In my capacity as the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, I have also met with the CEO once, and Chair of the OfS twice, in 2023. My noble friend Baroness Barran has also met with the CEO once.My Right hon. Friend, The Secretary of State for Education has not met with Arif Ahmed, Director of Free Speech and Academic Freedom of the OfS, since his appointment in June 2023. The Rt Hon Claire Coutinho MP, the previous Minister responsible for freedom of speech in the department, met with Arif Ahmed once in 2023 following his appointment.

Higher Education: Finance

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support higher education providers facing financial challenges.

Robert Halfon: Our universities are autonomous, vibrant, and independent. The department values this, as does the sector. This means that, ultimately, it is for providers, as part of an autonomous and independent sector, to decide on effective business models.The Office for Students (OfS), as the independent regulator of higher education (HE) in England, is responsible for monitoring and reporting on the financial sustainability of the sector. The department’s priority is to ensure that students’ best interests are protected. If a provider was at risk of an unplanned closure, the department would work with the OfS, and others where appropriate, to ensure the best outcomes for those students.We are investing hundreds of millions of pounds in additional funding over the three-year period from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to support high-quality teaching and facilities including in science and engineering, subjects that support the NHS, and degree apprenticeships. This includes the largest increase in government funding for the HE sector to support students and teaching in over a decade.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, departmental officials and I continue to work closely with the OfS and various parties including mission groups, providers, and other government departments as appropriate, to understand the ongoing impacts and changing landscape of financial sustainability in the sector.

Students: Employment

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of how many students work more than one job.

Robert Halfon: The Student Income and Expenditure Survey for the 2021/22 academic year provides data on students’ working patterns, including, for example, average hours worked and average hours worked during term time and vacations. However, the survey report does not cover the number of jobs students may have. The 2021/22 Student Income and Expenditure Survey can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/student-income-and-expenditure-survey-2021-to-2022.

Students: Travel

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support students commuting to and from university.

Robert Halfon: Where students choose to commute to university, it is important that universities, as independent and autonomous institutions, take their needs into account and ensure that students are properly supported during their studies.This government recognises the cost-of-living pressures that have impacted students. That is why we have made £276 million of student premium and mental health funding available this academic year to support disadvantaged students who need additional help. This extra funding will complement the help universities are providing through their own bursary, scholarship and hardship support schemes.

Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many times she has met the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education in 2023.

Robert Halfon: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has not met the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) in 2023. However, departmental officials meet staff from the OIA on a regular basis.

Students: Working Hours

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the average number of hours worked by students who have jobs.

Robert Halfon: The Student Income and Expenditure Survey publishes data on students’ working patterns. The survey for the 2021/22 academic year asked students who were in work to state how many hours they had worked in the week prior to completing the survey. The average (mean) number of hours worked in this reference week by full-time students was 12, while the median was lower, at 8. The average (mean) number of hours worked in the previous week by part-time students was 32 while the median was higher, at 37 hours.This published data also showed that full-time students who are in employment tend to work tend to work more hours during the summer vacation compared to term time.The Student Income and Expenditure Survey for the 2021/22 academic year can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/student-income-and-expenditure-survey-2021-to-2022.

Apprentices: Taxation

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the (a) amount raised through the apprenticeship levy and (b) number of apprenticeship levy service accounts in each year since its introduction.

Robert Halfon: The apprenticeship levy is a key part of the government’s reforms to the apprenticeship system and enables employers of all sizes to make a long-term, sustainable and high-quality investment in training. Monthly receipts data for the apprenticeship levy is published by HM Revenue and Customs in their tax and national insurance contributions receipts publication, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk.The table below shows the total number of levy-paying employer accounts created on the apprenticeship service in each financial yearsince its introduction in the 2016/17 financial year. It is pleasing to see annual increases in the number of levy-paying employers registering an account on the apprenticeship service.FYNew accounts createdTotal accounts (cumulative)2016/174,6304,6302017/188,64013,2702018/192,97016,2402019/202,03018,2702020/211,87020,1402021/221,92022,0602022/231,28023,3402023/2475024,090

Higher Education: Domestic Visits

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Higher Education providers she has visited in 2023.

Robert Halfon: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, the departmental ministerial team, and a range of officials routinely engage the sector, including universities, representative bodies and mission groups. In 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, alongside meetings and attendance at sector events, has visited Northumbria University, Exeter University, Queen Mary University and the following colleges with higher education provision: Mid Kent College, City of Liverpool College, Stafford College and Darlington College.The government highly values our world class higher education system, recognising its role as a catalyst for economic growth and innovation, and as a crucial foundation for fostering social mobility by empowering individuals with the essential skills for success.

Literacy: Education

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to help adults with poor literacy skills.

Robert Halfon: The department recognises the importance of good literacy skills, both in work and everyday life. That is why the department has taken steps to support adults to have the essential skills they need for life, work and further study, including literacy. Through our legal entitlement, the department provides the opportunity of fully funded study for adults who do not have essential literacy skills up to the equivalent of a GCSE grade 4/C or higher. In the 2021/22 academic year, around 239,000 learners participated in an English course funded through the entitlement. Further details can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/further-education-and-skills-november-2022.The department also supports all adults for whom English is not their first language to secure the English language skills they need. Adults are fully funded or co-funded to study English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) courses and qualifications up to and including GCSE 4/C equivalent. The number of learners participating in ESOL courses and qualifications continues to grow, with around 123,000 learners in the 2021/22 academic year and the department has already seen around 139,000 learners participate in the first three quarters of this academic year. Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/further-education-and-skills-november-2022.The department also recognises that community learning within the adult education budget (AEB) can play a valuable role in helping individuals improve their English, particularly for learners where a qualification is not the most appropriate first step.Currently 60% of the AEB has been devolved to nine Mayoral Combined Authorities and delegated to the Mayor of London (working where appropriate through the Greater London Authority). These authorities are responsible for the provision of adult education and allocation of the AEB in their local areas, including funding of English and maths statutory entitlements. The Education and Skills Funding Agency is responsible for the remaining AEB in non-devolved areas where colleges and other training providers have the freedom and flexibility to determine how they use their AEB to best meet the needs of their communities.

Universities: Sexual Offences

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce levels of sexual assault on campuses.

Robert Halfon: University campuses should be safe and welcoming places for all students and staff. The government is committed to working with and through the regulator to encourage and support universities to take action to prevent sexual assault, and to ensure they have robust procedures in place to make the reporting and investigation of incidents as straightforward as possible.To that end, the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will ban the use of non-disclosure agreements in cases of sexual harassment and misconduct, and other forms of bullying and harassment. This provision will come into force in 2024.Earlier this year, the Office for Students conducted a consultation to make mandatory measures that will, for the first time, require providers to address misconduct on campus. The results are expected this winter with new measures due in 2024.The department was also proud to support the work, led by Universities UK, to develop and publish guidance for universities on how to prevent and tackle incidents of spiking.

Overseas Students: Admissions

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many international students withdrew their application to study at universities before enrolment in 2023.

Robert Halfon: The department does not hold data on the number of international students who withdrew their application to study at universities in 2023.

Childcare

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support parents of primary-aged children with childcare outside of school hours.

David Johnston: In the Spring Budget 2023, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a transformative set of childcare reforms aimed at increasing labour market participation. This included the largest ever investment in childcare, including expansions of early years entitlements and wraparound childcare.The government’s ambition for wraparound childcare is that, by 2026, all parents and carers of primary school-aged children who need it will be able to access term time childcare in their local area from 8am-6pm. This will help to ensure that parents have enough childcare to work full time, more hours and with flexible hours.To support this ambition, the government announced that it will provide up to £289 million of start-up funding over two academic years from September 2024 to support local authorities and providers in England to introduce or expand childcare provision on either side of the school day, which parents of primary school-aged children will be able to pay to access.This programme will focus on primary school-aged children from reception to year 6, Monday to Friday during term time. The department’s expectation is that all wraparound provision is 8am-6pm, enabling parents to work a full day with travel time, unless data shows that local demand is for different hours, for example reflecting local labour market patterns.Parents should expect to see an expansion in the availability of wraparound care from September 2024, with every parent who needs it able to access term-time wraparound childcare by September 2026.

Supply Teachers

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much was spent on supply teachers in each (a) region, (b) local authority and (c) parliamentary constituency in the 2021-22 academic year.

Robert Halfon: A key principle behind the Government's plan for education is to give teachers and school leaders the freedom to use their professional judgement to decide the structure of their schools’ workforce that best meets the needs of their pupils. Financial information on Local Authority maintained schools, including spending on supply teachers, is collected in Consistent Financial Reporting returns. The information is published on the School Financial Benchmarking website and in the annual official statistic ‘LA and school expenditure’, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/la-and-school-expenditure. The spend on these categories for Local Authority maintained schools in each region for the 2021/22 financial year is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/22a37aed-9bf8-489a-4884-08dbdfb23d99. The spend on these categories for Local Authority maintained schools in each Local Authority for the 2021/22 financial year is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/beb72a02-b53a-41b2-4883-08dbdfb23d99. Information relating to individual schools is published on the School Financial Benchmarking website, available at: https://schools-financial-benchmarking.service.gov.uk/Help/DataSources. School level information published on the Schools Financial Benchmarking website has been linked to information from the Get Information About Schools website to provide the attached constituency level information. This includes supply teaching staff, supply teacher insurance and agency supply staff expenditure, plus net expenditure which is expenditure offset against income on supply teacher insurance claims. Information on the expenditure by academies is not published on the same basis as Local Authority maintained schools. Academy level data on expenditure is available on the Schools Financial website. Information at regional and Local Authority level is not published.514_constituency_table (xlsx, 55.8KB)

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Gibraltar Airport

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) Spanish and (b) Gibraltarian counterpart on control of Gibraltar airport.

Leo Docherty: The Foreign Secretary has spoken to the Spanish Foreign Minister and underlined the UK Government's commitment to concluding a UK-EU Gibraltar treaty. Throughout negotiations, working side-by-side with the Government of Gibraltar, we have presented proposals that maintain the careful balance of the December 2020 Political Framework, agreed between the UK, with Gibraltar, and Spain. We are prepared to explore practical and technical options to facilitate flights between Gibraltar and the EU. The UK will only agree to terms that the Government of Gibraltar are content with and will not agree to anything that compromises sovereignty.

Kenya: Ogiek

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Kenya on potential human rights violations on the Ogiek people of Mau.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The British High Commission in Nairobi is closely monitoring events in the Mau Forest. I have not raised this issue with the Kenyan authorities.

Afghanistan: Earthquakes

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what aid the Government sent to Afghanistan following the earthquake there in October 2023.

Leo Docherty: UK funded prepositioned supplies supported humanitarian partners in the immediate aftermath of the October earthquake. An additional £1 million was allocated to the Red Cross and £1 million to the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF) to help meet emergency needs. A further £1 million has been allocated to United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to provide targeted support to affected women and girls. This support ensured affected communities received emergency shelter, food and health assistance. Overall, $10 million has been allocated from the AHF and $5 million from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund, which the UK supports.

South Africa: Just Energy Transition Partnerships

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how much of the funding pledged by the UK at COP26 for the Just Energy Transition in South Africa has been allocated; and what information his Department holds on how much of the total funding pledged at COP26 for the Just Energy Transition in South Africa has been allocated as of 28 November 2023.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Just Energy Partnership (JETP) is a decades long endeavour which has made good progress since its inception in 2021. The original members of the International Partners Group (IPG) have increased their grant offer by 57 per cent since COP26 (from $329 million to $517 million). With the addition of the Netherlands and Denmark to the IPG, grant financing has increased by 116 per cent to $713 million. Approximately 50 per cent of the pledged grant funding has been committed, and 35 per cent is in the planning stages. Total financing from the IPG has expanded to $9.3 billion. $1.3 billion of IPG loans have been signed - with Euro 600 million disbursed.

Darfur: Security

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to respond to the security situation in West Darfur.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We condemn in the strongest terms the growing body of evidence of serious atrocities being committed against civilians in Darfur. The UK is working with a range of partners, including Quad (Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates (UAE), US, UK), African and European countries, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union and the UN to end hostilities, allow unfettered humanitarian access and ensure the protection of civilians. On 17 November, the UK alongside its Troika partners (Norway and US) published a joint statement, condemning the reported mass killings in West, Central and South Darfur and urging both warring parties to deescalate and engage in meaningful discussions that could lead to a ceasefire and humanitarian access. The UK, alongside Germany, US and Norway, also initiated the new resolution to establish an independent Fact-Finding mission for Sudan, which the UN Human Rights Council adopted in October.

Sudan: Politics and Government

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department is providing support to governments in North and East Africa to help increase levels of accountability in Sudan.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK continues to take a leading role in supporting processes for justice and accountability in Sudan, working alongside international partners such as the UN, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and the African Union. At the UN General Assembly in September, the UK co-hosted, alongside Troika partners (US, Norway), Canada, The Gambia and The International Criminal Court (ICC) an event on increasing accountability mechanisms in Sudan to continue to shine a spotlight on atrocities being committed by both sides. On 11 October, the UN Human Rights Council adopted the UK-led 'Sudan Core Group' resolution to establish an independent and international Fact-Finding Mission. This will support future accountability efforts in Sudan, including in relation to Darfur.

Development Aid: Environment Protection

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how much and what proportion of UK Official Development Assistance spending has been on green skills in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Recently we have supported green skills development in Mexico, Kenya, South Africa and Indonesia through the Skills for Prosperity programme and released a position paper laying out our position on girls' education and skills development and the role they play in addressing the climate crisis. Green skills is not currently tracked as a specific marker in UK ODA spending.

Gaza: Armed Conflict

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2023 to Question 1964, what additional (a) financial and (b) other support the Government plans to offer to the International Criminal Court.

David Rutley: The UK is one of the major funders of the International Criminal Court (ICC) through its Annual Budget and works to ensure that the Court has the resources it needs to operate effectively and sustainably. We make every effort to assist the ICC and other international investigations as appropriate, including leading international efforts to build support for the work of the Court in Ukraine. On 20 March, the then Deputy Prime Minister co-hosted with the Netherlands an International Justice Ministers' Conference, generating over £4 million in voluntary contributions and new offers of practical support for the Court and its independent investigation into the situation in Ukraine. In addition to the UK's funding support of £10.5 million to the ICC's Annual Budget, since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, we have made further contributions totalling £2 million, which will increase the Court's capacity to collect evidence and provide enhanced psychosocial support to witnesses and survivors across their investigations globally. Additionally, the UK provides practical support including witness protection, sentence enforcement and secondments of UK experts. This year we provided additional funding to the Prosecutor's Trust Fund for Advanced Technology and Specialized Capacity, the Trust Fund for Deployed Personnel and the Trust Fund for Victims.

British Indian Ocean Territory: Mauritius

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what his Department's policy is on the transfer of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius.

David Rutley: The UK and Mauritius have reiterated that any agreement between our two countries would ensure the continued effective operation of the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, which plays a vital role in regional and global security. The UK and Mauritius are close Commonwealth partners and negotiations include increasing our cooperation on matters of shared interest in the region and more broadly. The UK will only enter into an agreement that protects our national interests and those of our partners.

Guyana: Venezuela

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what his policy is on the Esequiba region of Guyana, in the context of Venezuela's referendum in December 2023.

David Rutley: The UK is not a party to proceedings in the International Court of Justice between Venezuela and Guyana over the demarcation of their border. The UK is clear that the border was settled in 1899 through international arbitration and we continue to support this decision. We urge the parties to resolve this issue peacefully.

India: Diplomatic Service

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2023 to Question 2222 on India: Diplomatic Service, how many staff of (a) his Department and (b) other Government Departments work in the Republic of India.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The FCDO currently has between 40-49 staff, in October 2023, working in India. (As reported in our response to PQ 2222).FCDO do not report headcount figures for other government departments. It is the responsibility of other government departments to report their own staff headcount numbers.

Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2023 to Question 2203 on Marine Environment: Treaties, what his timetable is for (a) incorporating the provisions of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement into UK law and (b) ratifying that Agreement.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK was pleased to be among the first signatories to the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement when it opened for signature at the UN on 20 September 2023 and the Agreement was laid before Parliament for scrutiny on 16 October 2023. Work is in hand on the legislation and other measures needed to translate the detailed and complex provisions of the Agreement into UK law before we can ratify the Agreement, which will be taken forward when parliamentary time allows.

Climate Change: Finance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to encourage his international counterparts to increase their share of adaptation finance in line with the COP26 target to double adaptation finance by 2025.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: At COP26, the UK COP Presidency secured a commitment from developed countries to at least double adaptation finance for developing countries by 2025. The UK is working with developed countries and multilateral providers to raise ambition on adaptation finance to meet this goal. We welcome recommendations from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on scaling up adaptation finance, including through improved coordination between providers, integrated planning approaches, and by continuing to mainstream adaptation into national budgets. Recently, the UK co-hosted the Third Climate and Development Ministerial to focus on improving access to adaptation finance for those countries most affected by climate change.

East African Community

Ruth Jones: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, when he last met the Leadership of the East African Community.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: I have not met with the Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC). However, UK officials based in the region met with the EAC Secretary General in August and with his deputy in September. We engage frequently and at a senior level with the member states of the EAC.I meet regularly with EAC member state leaders including at the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi in September. We will use next year's UK-Africa Investment Summit to strengthen our partnerships with African countries, including EAC members, to drive mutual growth and prosperity.

Israel: Military Intelligence

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether intelligence obtained by (a) the National Security Agency and (b) GCHQ from the UK Sovereign Base Areas has been shared with Israel since 7 October 2023.

David Rutley: It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments that we do not comment on intelligence matters.

Alaa Abdel Fattah

Wayne David: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs discussed Alaa Abd el-Fattah when he met his Egyptian counterpart on 22 November 2023.

David Rutley: Ministers and officials continue to raise Mr El-Fattah's case at the highest levels with the Egyptian government. Most recently, the Prime Minister raised Mr El-Fattah's case with President Sisi on 20 October. The former Foreign Secretary raised Mr El-Fattah's case on several occasions with Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry, including on 18 September. The Minister of State for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, raised the case with the Egyptian authorities on 15 November during his visit to Cairo. The Foreign Secretary's first meeting with Foreign Minister Shoukry on 22 November focused on the crisis in Israel and Gaza.

Gaza: Hamas

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an estimate of the number of Hamas terrorists that have been killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023.

David Rutley: The UK Government has not made an official estimate of the number of Hamas terrorists killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023. We continue to engage closely with the Government of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and international and regional partners on the conflict.

Israel: British Nationals Abroad

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to protect British Dual Nationals from Israel.

David Rutley: The safety and security of all British nationals continues to be our utmost priority and we are doing everything we can to support all British nationals, including dual nationals in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We can confirm that more than 200 people, including British Nationals and their dependants, have left Gaza, with onward support to Cairo. We are working with the Israeli and Egyptian authorities to ensure any remaining British nationals that want to leave are cleared and able to cross the Rafah Border.

Commonwealth: Democracy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which development programmes funded by his Department are intended to help promote democracy in Commonwealth countries.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: We work closely with Commonwealth partners, including through our programme funding, to promote core values that are enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter, such as democracy. Our project with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association undertakes assessments against a set of recommended benchmarks for democratic legislatures. In addition, FCDO programmes, such as the Magna Carta Fund, John Bunyan Fund and the ROLE UK Programme, currently include projects being delivered in Commonwealth countries to bolster democracy.

Jagtar Singh Johal

John Spellar: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2023 to Question 1785 on Jagtar Singh Johal, whether the Minister of State for South Asia and the Indian External Affairs Minister discussed when the Indian authorities plan to decide whether to charge or release Jagtar Singh Johal.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State responsible for Human Rights, has raised Jagtar Singh Johal's case with the Government of India on numerous occasions. He did so most recently on 13 November with the Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Lord Ahmad raised our concerns about Mr Johal's case, including the length of his detention and the need for a resolution. The UK Government will continue to raise our concerns about Mr Johal's case with the Government of India.

Ukraine: Politics and Government

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his European counterparts on the political and security situation in Ukraine.

Leo Docherty: We continue to raise the situation in Ukraine with our European counterparts. On 28-29 November, the Foreign Secretary attended the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting, where he set out UK ambition on Ukraine and the need to increase defence industrial production. At the NATO-Ukraine Council, he emphasised that Allies must sustain their support and continue taking practical steps towards Ukraine's membership. In Brussels, he discussed support for Ukraine with Maros Sefcovic, Vice-President of the European Commission. On 29 November, the Foreign Secretary met foreign ministers before the The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Ministerial Council, emphasising that the UK would continue to stand with Ukraine and provide moral, diplomatic, economic and military support.

Development Aid: Infrastructure

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the Answer of 27 November 2023 to Question 3279, how many government-funded foreign infrastructure projects included delivery partners that were (a) state owned enterprises and (b) companies registered in the People's Republic of China in each of the last 10 years.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK has funded a large number of foreign infrastructure projects, including through the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) and British International Investment (BII). PIDG and BII both operate with high standards of due diligence and a low tolerance for operational and compliance risk, including compliance breaches from downstream partners. The lifecycle of individual PIDG and BII projects often span multiple years, and involve close working relationships with a large number of delivery partners globally, meaning that risks can be spotted, communicated, and acted upon in a timely manner. The information requested is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Myanmar: Violence

Ruth Jones: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) potential for an escalation of violence in Myanmar, (b) level of threat to Rohingya groups and (c) security situation in that region.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: We are concerned about the escalation of the conflict, the continued restrictions on humanitarian access, the increasing risk of atrocities including to the Rohingya and other minorities, in Myanmar. There are reports that over 2 million people are now displaced and 18.4 million in need of humanitarian assistance. In Rakhine State, where most of the Rohingya in Myanmar reside, over 50,000 people have been displaced in the past two weeks. The British Embassy in Yangon are closely monitoring the risk of further violence across Myanmar and ensuring our humanitarian assistance reaches those most in need.

Bangladesh: Elections

Ruth Jones: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the adequacy of the safety of religious minorities in Bangladesh planning to vote in that country’s national election.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK Government wants to see free, fair, participatory and peaceful elections in Bangladesh. We are committed to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all, which is a human right guaranteed under international law. We promote human rights through our political dialogue and programmes in Bangladesh. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister for South Asia, raised human rights with Prime Minister Hasina when they met in October. We are monitoring the implications of the upcoming elections, and we will continue to stress to the Government of Bangladesh that respect for human rights, including the safety of religious minorities, are essential elements of the democratic process.

Climate Change

Ian Murray: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department has taken to deliver the (a) commitments made in the Glasgow Declaration for Fair Water Footprints and (b) other commitments on water and climate resilience made at COP26.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK delivery plan for the Fairwater Footprints (FWF) programme will improve the governance of water in supply chains. Already FWF is shaping new investment in collective water action in over 60 UK food and drink retailers in water-scarce regions of Peru, Kenya and Morocco, reforming procurement, regulation and investment policy in Panama, Madagascar, Finland and the Netherlands, and strengthening the voice of vulnerable communities in Malawi. In March 2023 the UK announced £1 million to design the flagship Just Transitions for Water Security programme to support the FWF alongside two other COP26 initiatives: the Water Tracker and the Resilient Water Accelerator.

Cabinet Office

Blood: Contamination

Damien Moore: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Second Interim Report of the Infected Blood Inquiry, published 5 April 2023, what his Department's policy is on the implementation of that report's recommendation of interim payments to children, parents and siblings of people affected by infected blood.

John Glen: Work is currently underway across Government to give thorough consideration to each of the recommendations that Sir Brian made in his second interim report. As you know, the Victims and Prisoners Bill was amended on 4 December 2023, and we are aware of the strength of feeling across Parliament on this issue. I will make a statement to Parliament as soon as possible before recess to update on Government progress.

Civil Service: Standards

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the responsibilities of the Cabinet Secretary being covered by other civil servants during the Cabinet Secretary's absence on the effectiveness of the Civil Service.

John Glen: The Cabinet Secretary is currently on a period of medical leave. He is expected back in January. At the beginning of his medical leave, Ministers approved temporary arrangements under which a number of permanent secretaries and other senior officials are covering his responsibilities.This includes Alex Chisholm, as Chief Operating Officer of the Civil Service and Chair of the Civil Service Board, Chris Wormald, as Chair of the Senior Leadership Committee, and Sarah Healey, as Chair of the People Board. These arrangements remain in place and are working well.

Exports: Kyrgyzstan

Luke Pollard: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the value of UK exports to Kyrgyzstan was in each of the last five years.

John Glen: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 27 November is attached.UK Statistics Authority (pdf, 109.7KB)

Disasters and Disease Control: Disability

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department has taken to ensure the provision of accessible communications for disabled people in (a) pandemic and (b) disaster preparedness work.

Alex Burghart: The Government Communication Service (GCS) is committed to ensuring that all government communications are available and accessible to all audiences. Its crisis communications operating model commits to improving preparedness plans across the risks facing the government. This includes meeting statutory requirements and setting standards of best practice for accessible communications.Departments make commonly-requested alternative formats of communications such as Easy Read and Large Print available in order to meet people’s needs. The recently published British Sign Language (BSL) report details what the government is doing to promote and facilitate the use of BSL in its communications with the public.During the Covid-19 pandemic, GCS continuously engaged with disability charities, using polling and focus groups with hard-to-reach audiences, to better understand how our communications were received. Examples of new guidance were also discussed in regular sessions with disability charities and experts in accessibility, so these groups could review and make recommendations on how to improve government communications. We used these insights to improve government messaging and challenge misinformation.

Coronavirus: Disability

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to recommendation 13 of the Fourth Report of the Women and Equalities Select Committee of Session 2019-21, on Unequal impact? Coronavirus, disability and access to services, HC1050, published on 22 December 2020, what progress his Department has made on ensuring that all Government communications comply with the accessible communications checklist.

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to paragraph 124 of the Fourth Report of Session 2019-21 from the Women and Equalities Select Committee on Unequal impact? Coronavirus, disability and access to services: full Report, HC1050, published on 22 December 2020, what steps his Department has taken to evaluate the extent to which Government communications comply with the accessible communications checklist.

Alex Burghart: The Government Communication Service (GCS) is committed to ensuring the government communicates effectively to everyone by making its communications inclusive and accessible. This includes standards, monitoring, training and guidance on accessibility and inclusion. We have aligned, where possible, with the charity sector’s accessibility checklist.

Press Conferences: 10 Downing Street

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all press conferences from Downing Street are provided with British Sign Language translation during national emergencies.

Alex Burghart: I refer the Hon Member for North Swindon to my answer on 15th November 2023 (PQ 322).

Cabinet Office: Official Hospitality

Julie Elliott: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's data on expenditure over £500 for September 2023, what the purpose of the hospitality event held at The Botanist, Sheffield on 14 September 2023 was; how much was spent on alcoholic beverages; and how many people attended that event.

Alex Burghart: The purpose of the event was to bring national government and local authority communication directors together to improve joint working, and complied with departmental hospitality guidance.The event was booked for 24 people with a set menu that included a single complimentary drink. The venue was secured free of charge.

Treasury

Pro-innovation Regulation of Technologies Review

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Government's response to Professor Dame Angela McLean's Pro-Innovation Regulation of Technologies review, published November 2023, whether he made an assessment of the potential merits of accepting the recommendation on establishing an evidence gathering pilot.

Gareth Davies: This recommendation referred to here is that the government should facilitate an ‘evidence gathering pilot’ where regulators may seek clarification from the government on balancing strategic risks, if needed (Cross-Cutting report, 2d).No clear cases were presented by the regulators to the Review of where they would have used this mechanism if it had been available previously.To better facilitate an understanding of where regulators require further support, the government has issued a call for evidence on the regulatory landscape. Within this, regulators are directly asked on whether there are “specific areas where you consider it would be beneficial to seek further steer or guidance from the government”. The call for evidence closes on 7 January 2024. The government would welcome hearing of use cases where a regulator request for guidance on risk would have changed outcomes.

Corporation Tax: International Cooperation

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department holds information on the countries that will implement the OECD Pillar 2 minimum corporation tax measures from 31 December 2023; and what discussions he has had with (a) the OECD and (b) his counterparts in other countries on the implementation of that measure.

Gareth Davies: Countries that have committed to apply Pillar 2 from 31 December 2023 or 1 January 2024 include: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Vietnam. Japan are implementing for 1 April 2024. Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Hong-Kong and Singapore have committed to implement for 1 January 2025. There are many other jurisdictions that have taken steps towards Pillar 2 implementation. There are regular multilateral discussions at Ministerial level, including at the level of the G20, on how to ensure swift and coordinated implementation of Pillar 2, as well as the support that can be provided to developing countries in that regard.

Corporation Tax: International Cooperation

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact on (a) UK based businesses and (b) foreign direct investment of implementation of the OECD Pillar 2 minimum corporation tax measures.

Gareth Davies: A Tax Information and Impact Note was published in March 2023 which sets out the impact on business of complying with Pillar 2.

Financial Policy Committee

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on Remit and Recommendations of the Financial Policy Committee of the Bank of England.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his letters to the Governor of the Bank of England on the Remit and Recommendations for the Financial Policy Committee of 17 November 2022 and 22 November 2023, for what reason the bullet point on climate change and energy security in part C ii of the 2022 Remit and Recommendations is not present in that part of the 2023 Remit and Recommendations.

Bim Afolami: HM Treasury ministers have regular discussions with their colleagues across Government on climate change, including on the implementation of the Green Finance Strategy. The breadth of work the Government is doing through the Strategy will reinforce the UK’s status as a leading centre for green finance. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is responsible for setting the Remit for the Financial Policy Committee (FPC) once per year, and may also make recommendations regarding matters the FPC should consider as relevant to its primary financial stability objective and its secondary objective to support the Government’s economic policy. The FPC's remit is an important accountability mechanism to ensure the Committee has a clear framework through which it can make policy decisions and consider any trade-offs. This is important given the complexity of the FPC’s work. Yearly updates to the Remit ensure that it reflects the current economic context, the Government’s policy, as well as the FPC’s responsibilities and powers. Climate change is an important part of the FPC's remit: both due to the relevance of climate related risks to the Committee’s primary financial stability objective, and because increasing long-term energy security and delivering Net Zero are included as key parts of the Government’s economic policy and are therefore relevant to its secondary objective.

Bus Services: Wales

Ben Lake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 23 October 2023 entitled Bus Funding Update, HCWS1084, how much Barnett consequential funding the Welsh government will receive following the increase to the bus service operator grant.

Ben Lake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department's fiscal rules require (a) programme and (b) departmental comparability factors to be applied to new funding announcements made outside of a Spending Review; and, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 23 October 2023 entitled Bus Funding Update, HCWS1084, whether the announcement of additional funding for the bus service operators grant programme will have a 100% programme comparability factor applied for Barnett formula consequential funding for Wales.

Laura Trott: The Barnett formula will continue to apply in the usual way as set out in the published Statement of Funding Policy document. The Barnett formula is applied when departmental budgets change – not when departments announce how they are spending their budgets.The Written Ministerial Statement of 23 October 2023 entitled 'Bus Funding Update’ did not announce additional funding for the Department of Transport. Any additional funding for the Department for Transport will be confirmed in the usual way.

Offshore Industry: Taxation

David Duguid: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of windfall taxes on the level of investment in offshore energy production.

Gareth Davies: The Energy Profits Levy (EPL) was introduced on 26 May 2022 to respond to exceptionally high prices that meant oil and gas companies were benefiting from unexpectedly high profits. While the EPL is in place, companies can claim around 91p in tax relief for every £1 they invest in the UK. This relief increases to £1.09 for every £1 for money invested towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the production of oil and gas. At Autumn Statement 2023, the Government confirmed the technical details of the EPL’s price floor, the Energy Security Investment Mechanism (ESIM), which was introduced in June 2023 to give the sector the certainty to invest. The Government are committed to ending the EPL by March 2028 at the latest, or earlier if oil and gas prices return to historically normal levels due to the ESIM. The Electricity Generator Levy (EGL) is a time-limited tax on the extraordinary returns of electricity generators. The levy is not payable on renewable generation produced under Contracts for Difference, which will account for most new large renewable generation coming online in future years. To further support new renewables investment, at Autumn Statement 2023 the Chancellor announced an exemption from the EGL for new generation projects.

Taxation: International Cooperation

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the publication entitled OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS: Progress Report September 2022-September 2023, published on 11 October 2023; and if he will make it his policy to (i) support the UN Africa Group’s draft resolution on the Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation and (ii) make representations at the UN on ratification of that proposed convention by June 2025.

Nigel Huddleston: The UK strongly supports developing countries’ efforts to scale-up domestic resource mobilisation to finance sustainable development. The International Development White Paper published on Monday 20th November commits to building a stronger and fairer international tax system for all. In line with this, the UK supports the work of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, which allows closer international tax co-operation among more than 140 countries and jurisdictions; and the OECD/G20 Global Forum on Tax Transparency and Exchange of Information, which has 169 members and whose work has identified over EUR 41 billion of additional revenues by developing countries to date. However, the UK, alongside many other countries, is concerned that proceeding with a UN convention on international tax at this time would not be the most effective way to achieve these goals. An explanation of Vote was published on GOV.UK on 22nd November. [link]

Hospitality Industry: Scotland

Douglas Ross: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of Scottish hospitality businesses per sector have submitted requests to split their quarterly VAT payments in each of the last five years.

Nigel Huddleston: I believe that my honourable friend is referring to the recent consultation on an “Alternative Method of VAT Collection - Split Payment”. The consultation has now closed, and HMRC and HMT are taking this forward. You can see the full details here:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/alternative-method-of-vat-collection-split-payment You may be interested to know that information on numbers of businesses in the trade sectors is published in the Annual UK VAT Statistics, which can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/value-added-tax-vat-annual-statistics Further information is also available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/scottish-vat-assignment-experimental-statistics/scottish-vat-assignment-experimental-statistics-2020#about-this-release

Private Equity: Taxation

Ben Lake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of taxing carried interest at 45 per cent.

Nigel Huddleston: The government believes its approach to the taxation of Carried Interest, which is consistent with that taken in comparable jurisdictions, is a balanced one.

Office for Budget Responsibility: Operating Costs

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the annual operating cost of the Office for Budget Responsibility was in each of the last five years.

Bim Afolami: The OBR publishes its operating costs annually in its Annual Report and Accounts: https://obr.uk/topics/governance-and-reporting/ - annual

Office for Budget Responsibility: Staff

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff were employed by the Office for Budget Responsibility in each year since 2010.

Bim Afolami: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was legally formed on 4 April 2011. The OBR publishes numbers of employees annually in its Annual Report and Accounts: https://obr.uk/topics/governance-and-reporting/ - annual

Economic Situation: Brexit

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has plans to undertake an assessment of the impact of the UK's departure from the EU on the economy.

Bim Afolami: It is for the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to provide independent and authoritative analysis and forecasting for the UK public finances.

Tobacco

Mr Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact that a generational ban on the purchase of cigarettes will have on the (a) excise duty and (b) VAT gap on tobacco products.

Gareth Davies: As announced by the Prime Minister on 4 October 2023, the Government is creating the first smokefree generation, by bringing forward legislation so that children turning 14 this year or younger will never be legally sold tobacco products. This will prevent future generations from ever taking up smoking, as there is no safe age to smoke. The ‘Stopping the start: our new plan to create a smokefree generation’ command paper sets out the proposed actions the Government will take to tackle smoking and youth vaping: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stopping-the-start-our-new-plan-to-create-a-smokefree-generation The Government launched the ‘Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping’ consultation on 12 October on the smokefree generation policy detailed in the command paper: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/creating-a-smokefree-generation-and-tackling-youth-vaping Once final policy decisions are confirmed, the impact of those decisions on the public finances will be assessed and reflected in the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast. A smokefree generation will save the NHS billions over the long-term and put cash back in the pockets of millions of families across this country.

Carbon Emissions: Methane

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of including provision for a response to embedded carbon emissions from methane leakages in the design of a potential UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.

Gareth Davies: The government has recently consulted on potential future measures to mitigate carbon leakage risks, including the potential for a UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).As set out in the Autumn Statement, the government is considering responses to the consultation and the evidence to inform policy decisions, and will respond shortly.

Public Transport: North of England

Ben Lake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department's fiscal rules require (a) programme and (b) departmental comparability factors to be applied to new spending on projects included in Network North.

Laura Trott: The Barnett formula will continue to apply in the usual way as set out in the published Statement of Funding Policy document. The Barnett formula applies when departmental budgets change, not when departments announce how they are spending those budgets.

Schools: Northern Ireland

Claire Hanna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to provide additional funding to the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland to help address RAAC in schools.

Laura Trott: Education is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland.

Home Office

Home Office: Correspondence

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his Department's average response time to correspondence from hon. Members was in the latest period for which that data is available.

Chris Philp: The Home Office has a service standard to respond to 95% of Members’ correspondence within 20 days.The most recent customer service operations data are published at:www.gov.uk/government/publications/customer-service-operations-data-q3-2023 and show that the Home Office responded to 97% of correspondence within the service standard in the quarter from July to September 2023.

Home Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to transaction 127-DG - Delivery-65121 and 126-DG - Delivery-500 in the Home Office Procurement card spend over £500, March 2023 transparency release, whether the spend included alcoholic products.

Chris Philp: Yes, alcoholic products were purchased in line with the Home Office Gifts & Hospitality Guidance.

Migrant Workers: Visas

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many work visas were (a) applied for, (b) granted and (c) refused by job type in each financial year from 2019-20.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office publishes data on sponsored work entry clearance visas by occupation and industry in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on applications and grants are published in tables Occ_D01 and Occ_D02, respectively, of the Sponsored work visas by occupation and industry dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The data relates to between 2021 Q1 and 2023 Q3.

Churches: Security

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if his Department will issue guidance to parish churches on securing their buildings in the context of recent trends in the number of thefts from churches.

Chris Philp: The Home Office does not hold figures for thefts from churches; however, the Crime Survey for England and Wales for year ending June 2023 shows that overall theft since March 2010 has reduced by 47%.Historic England publishes guidance and advice for churches and other historic buildings and places on how to prevent crime, published here: Preventing Heritage Crime | Historic England.Historic England also operates the Heritage Crime Programme, which includes Heritage Watch, to enable members of the public to help protect heritage sites in their local communities Home - Heritage Watch.In addition, crime prevention advice is published by Secured By Design, the police security initiative, including advice on how to improve the security of buildings and their surroundings, here: Secured by Design - Secured by Design.

Diplomatic Service and Embassies: Protection

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what police protection is provided to (a) individuals, (b) embassies and (c) high commissions on the London diplomatic list.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when police protection was last reviewed for each (a) embassy, (b) high commission, (c) consulate and (d) foreign mission on the London diplomatic list.

Tom Tugendhat: The UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate.It is our longstanding policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals' and sites' security.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the presence of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps activity within the UK.

Tom Tugendhat: We do not routinely comment on operational matters or specific threats.However, we take the protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms and safety in the UK very seriously. We continually assess potential threats in the UK and use all tools at our disposal to protect the UK and our interests from any Iran-linked threats.

Hamas

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the presence of Hamas activity within the UK.

Tom Tugendhat: The Government does not routinely comment on operational and intelligence matters.We condemn Hamas’ abhorrent terrorist attacks against Israel and those inviting, or expressing, support for Hamas. In November 2021, the Government extended the proscription of Hamas to cover the organisation in its entirety.Investigations into the activities of proscribed organisations, including individuals who may be members or supporters of those organisations, are an operational matter for the police and intelligence agencies.

Religious Practice: Abuse

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to reduce crimes of (a) spiritual and (b) ritualistic abuse.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to safeguard people at risk of (a) spiritual and (b) ritualistic abuse.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing safeguarding for people at risk of (a) spiritual and (b) ritualistic abuse.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of taking additional steps to reduce (a) spiritual and (b) ritualistic abuse.

Laura Farris: Spiritual and ritualistic abuse abhorrent thought it is, is not ‘honour’-based abuse or VAWG. Therefore, we do not hold the information to respond to this PQ. The Department for Education have previously worked on the child abuse linked to faith or belief action plan which was published on GOV.UK at Child abuse linked to faith or belief: national action plan - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Crown Dependencies: Companies

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of when (a) the Bailiwick of Jersey, (b) the Bailiwick of Guernsey and (c) the Isle of Man will implement a publicly accessible register of beneficial ownership.

Tom Tugendhat: In 2019, the Bailiwick of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey and Isle of Man (the Crown Dependencies) committed to implement publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership in line with principles adopted by the European Union.In December 2022, following the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the Crown Dependencies issued a statement announcing that they were pausing work on their public commitments while they sought legal advice.Currently 14 EU Member States allow public access to their beneficial ownership registers. Gibraltar has maintained a publicly accessible beneficial ownership register since 2020 and has not noted any negative economic impacts resulting from implementation of its public register.The UK and the Crown Dependencies have differing legal views on implementing publicly accessible registers in light of the CJEU ruling. The UK is satisfied with the lawfulness of our own publicly accessible registers and continues to believe that the CDs could legally implement public registers of their own.The Home Office is actively engaging the Crown Dependencies to understand their position. We will keep Parliament updated in the weeks ahead.

Visas: India

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time is for a UK visa appointment in the Republic of India.

Robert Jenrick: At present, the average waiting time for a visa appointment at UK Visa Application Centres in India is in line with standard service levels.

VFS Global

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether VFS Global are compliant with the terms of their service agreement with his Department.

Robert Jenrick: We can confirm that VFS Global are compliant with the terms of their service agreement with the Home Office.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Women

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to increase the number of female staff members within the DE&S Senior Leadership Group.

Dr Andrew Murrison: In January 2020 DE&S (along with the wider MOD) set Levels of Ambition for diverse representation across the organisation with specific targets for its Senior Leadership Group (SLG), which is comprised of all civilian employees at Senior Civil Service grades and their military equivalents. This included a commitment to increasing female representation within the SLG to 30% by 2030. A number of initiatives intended to increase diversity have already been introduced; · A review of candidate packs for recruitment adverts to ensure language is gender neutral; · The tasking of an executive search agency to specifically focus on pushing and nurturing female and other diverse candidates; · Current organisation development work includes a review of job specifications for future roles to ensure they do not restrict potential candidate pools; · The introduction of representative interview panels. Further planned measures to increase diversity include structured learning on the merits of a diverse SLG for SCS hiring managers, in-depth succession planning, increased opportunities for flexible working and targeted development for female staff below SCS.

Veterans: Radiation Exposure

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence during the debate on Nuclear Test Veterans: Medical Records of 28 November 2023, Official Report, column 245WH, when his Department plans to examine the 150 Atomic Weapons Establishment files.

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence of 28 November 2023, Official Report, column 246WH, if his Department will provide the 150 Atomic Weapons Establishment files to the Defence Select Committee with personal details redacted.

Dr Andrew Murrison: I have asked officials to review the 150 items and provide them to me. I will then personally assess them and consider their release into the public domain, as I committed to do during the debate on Nuclear Test Veterans: Medical Records on 28 November (Official Report, column 245WH).

Defence Board: Women

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to increase the number of women appointed to the Defence Board.

Dr Andrew Murrison: As per the guidelines set out in the corporate governance in central government departments: code of good practice, April 2017, we make every effort to ensure a diverse board membership. Up until November 2023, there were three female members on the Defence Board. When appointing Non-Executive Members to the Defence Board, we encourage candidates that will not only provide external expertise but will also enhance the diversity of the board. As regulated posts, these are managed in consultation with the Cabinet Office and approved by No 10.

Army: Recruitment

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what joining bonuses were offered for Army personnel by each regiment.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Army currently offers a £6,500 bonus on completion of phase two training into the Chef trade or the Petroleum Operator trade within the Royal Logistic Corps. This payment requires a four-year return of service. There is also a £500 payment offered on completion of module one of Basic Training into the Army Reserves. Alongside ‘joining bonuses’ the Army also has internal transfer bounties in place, for example currently within the Parachute Regiment. However, this is internal and only available to serving Army personnel.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government provided (a) funding and (b) training to (i) Afghan Territorial Force 444 and (ii) Commando Force 333 units during Operation Herrick.

James Heappey: Commando Force 333 (CF) And Afghanistan Territorial Force 444 (AF444) were an Afghan-led component of the Afghan security forces, paid for and reporting into the Afghan Ministry of Interior (MOI). The UK Armed Forces provided training and capacity-building support to the Afghanistan Territorial Force as part a wide package of assistance. This included reimbursing expenses to some individuals who incurred costs as a result of operating alongside UK Armed Forces. I should note again however, that not all members of the Afghan Armed Forces, including specific units such as AF 444 and CF 333, will automatically be eligible for ARAP. Each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis on its own merits. However, we are prioritising finding remaining eligible applicants and relocating them as quickly as we can.

Gaza: Special Forces

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether British special forces are on the ground in Gaza as of 27 November 2023.

James Heappey: It is longstanding Government policy not to comment on Special Forces.

Israel: Military Aid

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether UK surveillance assets deployed to assist Israel since 7 October 2023 have collected intelligence over Gaza.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether intelligence on (a) Gaza, (b) Israel and (c) Palestine obtained via UK surveillance assets since 7 October 2023 has been shared with his Israeli counterpart.

James Heappey: On 2 December, the Government announced the UK Ministry of Defence will conduct surveillance flights in the Eastern Mediterranean in support of the ongoing hostage rescue activity. This includes operating in air space over Israel and Gaza. Surveillance aircraft will be unarmed, do not have a combat role, and will be tasked solely to locate hostages. Only information relating to hostage rescue will be passed to the relevant authorities responsible for hostage rescue.

Ministry of Defence Police: Staff

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2023 to Question 2080 on Ministry of Defence Police: Staff, if he will break those figures down by rank.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The breakdown of staff for October 2023, split between uniformed ranks and civil service grades is provided in the attached table.Ministry of Defence Police; Rank Figures (docx, 43.7KB)

Ministry of Defence: Personal Injury

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 122 of his Department's publication entitled Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2022 to 2023, how many Settlements of Other Personal Injury were agreed in the 2022-2023 financial year.

Dr Andrew Murrison: 13 cases were agreed in financial year 2022-23. The answer is based solely on the 'Other Personal Injury' claims category where damage payments over £300,000 were made in 2022-23 as published in MOD's Annual Report and Accounts but only those where the final settlement payment on damages has been made in 2022-23.

Ministry of Defence: Standards

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 100 of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, HC1468, when he plans that the review into his Department’s location footprint will be completed.

James Cartlidge: In line with the Cabinet Office timelines to complete the first phase of the Places for Growth (PfG) decentralisation programme, the Ministry of Defence will achieve its agreed target by 2025-26.

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service accommodation units do not have valid gas certificates; and how many of these units have certificates that expired (a) one month, (b) three months, (c) six months and (d) 12 months ago.

James Cartlidge: As at 29 November 2023, 137 Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties do not have a valid gas safety certificate. This equates to 0.28% of all SFA. The table below shows how many of the occupied properties have certificates that have expired (a) one month, (b) three months, (c) six months and (d) 12 months ago: Expired Landlord Gas Safety Inspections (LGSI) as at 29 November 2023TimelineAmountTOTALExpired - 1 Month6899Expired - 3 Months22Expired - 6 Months9Expired - 12 Months0 Of the 99 homes, 70 have appointments booked. The remainder cannot be accessed for a number of reasons; e.g. the Service person being deployed. We are working with local chain of commands or are pursuing legal routes where appropriate. The 38 unoccupied properties will all have a Landlord’s Gas Safety Inspection carried out pre move-in.

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 28 March 2023 to Question 169207 on Armed Forces: Housing, how many and what proportion of the 154 Service Family Accommodation properties not allocated due to damp and mould issues in December 2022 (a) have been allocated and (b) are ready for allocation to families.

James Cartlidge: Of the 154 Service Family Accommodation properties not allocated due to damp and mould in December 2022; 28 or18%, are occupied by familiesFive or 3%, have been allocated to families and await move in The remaining 121 or 79% of properties either have routine works scheduled; are being handed back to Annington Property Limited or require significant works to make them available for occupation.

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 13 November 2023 on Service Family Accommodation and Winter Planning, UIN HCWS28, how many families in Service Family Accommodation with a damp and mould report will receive a damp and mould mitigation package before (a) December 2023, (b) January 2024, (c) February 2024 and (d) March 2024.

James Cartlidge: As part of the £400 million additional funding announced in the July 2023 Defence Command Paper Refresh for this financial year and next, a year-long £29 million programme of mitigation works is now underway to address damp and mould in circa 4,000 homes. Works are being rolled out as fast as the supply chain is able, at a very large number of sites across the UK. Therefore, it is not possible to provide a detailed breakdown by month. However, the most severely affected homes are being tackled first and over 1,200 have been completed to date. We estimate that around 3,300 will be completed by 31 March 2024, with the remaining circa 700 being completed early next financial year.

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Service Family Accommodation properties have not been allocated by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation because of damp or mould issues in 2023.

James Cartlidge: From 1 January 2023 to 30 November 2023, 312 Service Family Accommodation properties were not allocated to families due to damp or mould issues.

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many calls related to (a) damp and (b) mould issues in armed forces accommodation were received by the National Service Centre since (i) January 2023 and (ii) April 2023.

James Cartlidge: The Pinnacle National Service Centre (NSC) records calls reporting damp and/ or mould. It does not separately record calls reporting damp and mould, The figures for calls for damp and/or mould in 2023 are shown in the table below: MonthNo of Damp and Mould calls receivedJan 2023904Feb 2023971Mar 20231,789Apr 20231,118May 2023845Jun 2023258Jul 2023210Aug 2023202Sep 2023236Oct 2023351Nov 2023550

Artillery: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) requests for information and (b) pre-qualification questionnaires his Department has released in relation to the procurement of the new mobile fires platform.

James Cartlidge: The Mobile Fires Platform Project team have released three formal requests for information to industry. No pre-qualification questionnaires have been released.

Le TacCIS Programme: Expenditure

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on (a) Morpheus and (b) the wider LEtacCIS programme as of 27 November 2023.

James Cartlidge: As of 27 November 2023, the total expenditure for the LETacCIS programme is c£1.8 billion, of which Project MORPHEUS represents c£766 million.

Multi-role Ocean Surveillance Ship: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his predecessor's speech of 3 October 2022, whether it remains his Department's plan to procure a second multi role ocean surveillance ship.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timescale is to publish the tender for the second Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance ship.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it remains his Department's policy for the second Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance ship to be built in the UK.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding has his Department budgeted for the procurement of the second Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance ship.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the in service date for the second Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance ship.

James Cartlidge: The Second Multi-role Ocean Surveillance Vessel is still in the concept phase. A programme and procurement strategy will be established once this has been completed.

Ministry of Defence: Standards

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 81 of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, HC1468, what steps he has taken to implement flexible, rapid, and effective decision making in his Department.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 81 of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, HC1468, when he plans that the end to end review of the Defence Operating Model will be completed.

James Cartlidge: In Spring 2023, we agreed to review the Defence Operating Model to optimise our response to the current dynamic threat environment. The work is anticipated to last between 18 and 24 months, until Spring 2025, which includes the need to simplify our processes and associated decision-making. As we design the future operating model, we will pilot improvements in priority areas across the system to drive change iteratively and quickly, aiming for significant changes to be in place from April 2024. We see this work as the beginning of a new approach to operating model design, in which we continuously review and iterate our operating model to ensure it meets our needs thereafter.

Le TacCIS Programme: Public Appointments

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many programme directors from his Department have worked on Morpheus since that programme began.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Morpheus programme has a full time senior responsible officer.

James Cartlidge: The LETacCIS programme has a full-time Senior Civil Servant (2*) Senior Responsible Owner, who has responsibility for the MORPHEUS project as part of the wider LETacCIS programme. Since the LETacCIS programme began, four Programme Directors have overseen the MORPHEUS project.

Le TacCIS Programme

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it remains his Department's policy to pursue the Morpheus programme.

James Cartlidge: The Department continues to require the outputs of the MORPHEUS project as part of the next generation of tactical communications.

Le TacCIS Programme

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the projected in-service date for Morpheus is as of 27 November 2023.

James Cartlidge: The original Initial Operating Capability (IOC) date was 2025; a revised IOC is yet to be defined pending ongoing discussions with the supplier which remain commercially sensitive.

RAF Akrotiri

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is required to inform the Cypriot government of UK or allied missions flown from RAF Akrotiri.

James Heappey: As a trusted partner, the Ministry of Defence routinely engages with the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) on issues relating to the Sovereign Base Areas. This includes, where appropriate, informing the RoC of flights into and from RAF Akrotiri, although there is no formal requirement to do so.

RAF Akrotiri

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many US Air Force flights have flown from RAF Akrotiri to Israel since 7 October 2023.

James Heappey: The Ministry of Defence does not comment on information about Allies' operations.

Gaza: Armed Forces

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the UK military has been involved in combat operations in Gaza since 7 October 2023.

James Heappey: The UK military has not been involved in combat operations in Gaza.

National Shipbuilding Office

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many meetings he has had with the Chief Executive Officer of the National Shipbuilding Office since August 2023.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many meetings his predecessor had with the Chief Executive Officer of the National Shipbuilding Office since September 2021.

James Cartlidge: Both the current and past Shipbuilding Tsars have had regular informal and formal meetings with the Chief Executive of the National Shipbuilding Office.

National Shipbuilding Office

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the National Shipbuilding Office has powers to monitor the implementation of (a) initial and (b) full business case commitments by contractors to utilise a specific proportion of UK sourced steel for shipbuilding procurement programmes.

James Cartlidge: The National Shipbuilding Office (NSO) may monitor and challenge such matters as British steel sourcing, if appropriate, but cannot mandate its use.

Shipbuilding Enterprise for Growth

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many external stakeholders have (a) been invited and (b) accepted an invitation to be members of the Shipbuilding Enterprise for Growth forum.

James Cartlidge: There are currently 22 members of the Shipbuilding Enterprise for Growth who serve for a term of up to three years.

National Shipbuilding Office

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the National Shipbuilding Office has the power to (a) award and (b) veto contracts to industry for shipbuilding procurement programmes.

James Cartlidge: The National Shipbuilding Office (NSO) does not have the power to award or veto any shipbuilding contracts – that authority sits with the department responsible for the procurement. The NSO seeks to work collaboratively and proactively with any authority taking forward a shipbuilding procurement in the United Kingdom. In addition, His Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) and the Cabinet Office (CO) agree to seek formal input from the NSO on investment and approval decisions with regards to shipbuilding procurements or investment initiatives to optimise the benefits of public investment in shipbuilding.

Afghanistan: Refugees

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether Afghan personnel who served in (a) Afghan Territorial Force 444 and (b) Commando Force 333 units are eligible for the ARAP scheme.

James Heappey: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Glasgow Central Question 3862 on the 30 November 2023.Afghanistan: Refugees (docx, 15.1KB)

Middle East: Armed Forces

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2023 to Question 2762 on Middle East: Armed Forces, what the conclusion was of the review led by the Chief of the Defence Staff; and what steps he has taken to improve the force protection posture of UK personnel in the Middle East.

James Heappey: For reasons of operational security, I cannot comment on the specific nature of steps taken to ensure the force protection of UK personnel in the Middle East. I can confirm though that the steps laid out in the review of 20 October have been taken and the posture remains under constant review.

Ministry of Defence: Personal Injury

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 122 his Department's publication entitled Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2022 to 2023, how much the average settlement was for amounts paid under Settlements of Other Personal Injury in the 2022-23 financial year.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The average settlement of damages was £835,000.The answer has been limited to only those Other Personal Injury cases reported in the Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2022 to 2023 as having damage payments over £300,000 in 2022 to 2023 where full settlement on damages has been reached. The totality of damage payments has been used should any damage payments have been made in previous financial years.

Ministry of Defence: Negligence

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference his Department's publication entitled Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2022 to 2023, how much the average settlement payment was for a clinical negligence claim in the 2022-23 financial year.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The average settlement of damages is £1.53 million.The answer has been limited to only those clinical negligence cases reported in the Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2022 to 2023 as having damage payments over £300,000 in 2022 to 2023 where full settlement on damages has been reached. The totality of damage payments has been used should any damage payments have been made in previous financial years.

Military Decorations

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of introducing a National Defence Medal for those who served in the armed forces.

Dr Andrew Murrison: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on Friday 2 June by my hon. Friend, the Minister for Veterans' Affairs in the Cabinet Office (Johnny Mercer), to the hon. Member for Bosworth (Dr Luke Evans) in response to Question 187235. Military Decorations (docx, 23.7KB)

Armed Forces: Housing

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel lived in substitute service single accommodation on average in each year since 2015.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The table below shows the total numbers of Service personnel living in Substitute Service Single Accommodation (SSSA) each year since 2015. YearNumber of Service Personnel in SSSA20154,16520163,98320173,97020183,74520193,87020203,82020213,63320223,5962023 (up to 28 Nov)3,951 There has been a 30% increase in SSSA applications in 2023. This is due to single Service Personnel being decanted from Single Living Accommodation as improvement and upgrade works take place a number of large Unit moves that have occurred this year.

Ministry of Defence: Employment Schemes

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people in his Department participated in the (a) Rise and (b) Elevate schemes in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020, (iii) 2021 and (d) 2022.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual running cost is of his Department’s (a) Rise and (b) Elevate scheme.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Rise is a 12-month internal civilian talent scheme aimed at colleagues at grades from Administrative Assistant (AA) to Executive Officer (EO). Rise aims to develop those showing early leadership potential through a series of targeted learning experiences in Defence to build the leadership capability required to deliver Defence outputs in the future. Scheme members also gain the opportunity to widen their knowledge and networks across Defence and develop the confidence to manage their own development and career effectively.Elevate is a two-year leadership skills development programme and has been developed for internal Ministry of Defence civilian staff at Higher Executive Officer (HEO) and Senior Executive Officer (SEO) levels. Through Action Learning Sets, Elevate members develop a network of colleagues, grow their understanding of Defence and undertake work to develop leadership and management skills. In addition, job shadowing offers a chance to explore new areas or roles, and bitesize learning sessions widen knowledge of Defence.Both schemes were launched in 2021. The numbers of participants are set out below: Rise:2021: 232022: 48 Elevate:2021: 302022: 30 (same cohort as for 2021 due to scheme duration) Rise and Elevate are pilot talent schemes in their infancy. Budgeted programme costs are £100,000 and actual spend was £92,960 in Financial Year 2021-22 and £42,190 in Financial Year 2022-23.

Ministry of Defence: Senior Civil Servants

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Senior Civil Servants employed on fixed term contracts in his Department were given a performance related award in each year since 2010.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Senior Civil Servants employed on a fixed term contract in his Department were employed on a permanent basis after the expiry of their fixed term contract in each year since 2010.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were externally recruited to Senior Civil Service posts in his Department in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021, (d) 2022 and (e) 2023 to date.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were recruited to Senior Civil Service posts in his Department in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021, (d) 2022 and (e) 2023 to date.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many officials in his Department were Senior Civil Servants in each year since 2010.

Dr Andrew Murrison: It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the right hon. Member's Questions. I will write to her when the information is available, and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

Ministry of Defence: Standards

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 80 of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, HC1468, when he plans that the Deep Dives into the Defence Ethics, Propriety and Standards guidance will be completed.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The rolling programme of deep dives into the effectiveness of, and compliance with, Defence Ethics, Propriety and Standards policies provides assurance on an ongoing basis. The first deep dives into Gifts, Rewards and Hospitality and Business Appointments policies have concluded and recommendations are being implemented. Further policy deep dives will commence in the new year.

Ministry of Defence: Fraud

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 80 of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, HC1468, when he plans that the upgrade to the confidential hotline for fraud and other irregularities will be completed.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Confidential Hotline is currently undergoing a programme of upskilling and process improvements. This is an ongoing programme of improvement, in line with evolving standards in law enforcement. The Target held within the Defence Counter Fraud Strategy Action plan is to have this programme completed by Quarter two financial year 2024-25. Upskilling of the current Confidential Hotline staff and improvements to current processes is already underway.

National Shipbuilding Office: Staff

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff employed by the National Shipbuilding Office have been drawn from each government department.

James Cartlidge: I refer the hon. member to the answer I provided on 28 November in response to Question 2484.National Shipbuilding Office: Staff (docx, 16.3KB)

Submarines: Crew

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what welfare support his Department offers to Royal Navy submarine crews following long at-sea deployments.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Royal Navy is aware of the pressure put on submariners and their families during periods of absence. Submariners are given extensive training prior to deployment to help prepare for life underwater. While at sea, they have access to a weekly short message from their nominated loved one and support from their divisional system, medical officer and in some cases a Chaplain.When returning from deployment, submariners have access to Royal Navy (RN) Family and People Support services which offers a range of specialist tailored welfare services to Naval personnel and their families, including during times of illness, grief and loss, separation and relationship concerns. Advice and guidance can also be accessed via the online RN Forum. This includes information on the impact of the emotional cycle of deployment, including family reintegration post operation deployment.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many reports of (a) rape, (b) sexual assault with penetration and (c) sexual assault without penetration were recorded by the Service Police in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Defence has made it clear there is zero tolerance to sexual offending. When a person is convicted of a sexual offence their discharge is mandatory.The requested information is published at the website of the collection of Official Statistics on Murder, Manslaughter and Sexual offences in the Service Justice System: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sexual-offences-in-the-service-justice-system. Worksheet 1 of the associated data tables provides information on Service Police investigations into offences contrary to The Sexual Offences Act 2003, by year, Service Police force responsible for investigating, and investigation outcome.

Ministry of Defence: Negligence

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many settlement payments there were for clinical negligence in the 2022-23 financial year.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Twenty cases. The answer reflects damages paid in settlement of common law compensation claims against the Ministry of Defence in respect of clinical negligence claims where the final damage payment has been made in 2022-23.

Defence Equipment: Finance

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph the Defence Command Paper published by his Department on 18 July 2023, CP 901, how much he plans to spend on replenishing UK stockpiles in the next financial year.

James Cartlidge: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 4 September 2023 to Question 194665 to the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Deane (Mr John Healey).Defence: Procurement (docx, 14.8KB)

Army: Sexual Offences

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many initial army training staff were (a) investigated for and (b) convicted of sexual offences against recruits under the age of 18 in the last three years.

Dr Andrew Murrison: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

RAF Akrotiri

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many RAF flights have gone from RAF Akrotiri to Israel since 7 October 2023.

James Heappey: As of 27 November 2023, the RAF have flown a total of 32 flights from RAF Akrotiri to Israel since 7 October 2023. These flights enabled the assisted departure of British Nationals from Israel, the continued movement of materials required to sustain our diplomatic mission to Tel Aviv; and the transportation of Ministers and senior officials conducting diplomatic engagements with Israeli interlocutors.

Mediterranean Sea: Armed Forces

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in which countries the extra UK military personnel deployed to Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean since 7 October 2023 are based; and how many personnel are deployed in each of those countries as of 27 November 2023.

James Heappey: It has not been possible to obtain the information in the time available. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Air Force: Training

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average number of (a) flying and (b) simulator hours was per RAF pilot in each of the last six years.

James Heappey: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Military Exercises: Tanks

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many tank shells were fired on training exercises in each year since 2015.

James Heappey: Below is a chart showing the number of shells and shots fired from tanks on training exercises each year since financial year 2014-15 until year to date. Financial YearSHELLS FIREDSHOTS FIRED2014-156,7425,9042015-1611,42210,4292016-174,3135,5092017-189,8606,6502018-1910,2067,6322019-2011,03810,8072020-217004,7662021-223,5818,8182022-232,6356,1622023-24 year to date3,2011,966

Armed Forces: Ethnic Groups

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of people recruited as service personnel to the armed forces were from a black, Asian and ethnic minority background in each of the last five years.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The requested information is published in the UK Armed Forces Biannual Diversity Statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-index. Specifically, tables 8 and 24 of the supporting datasheets provide information on, respectively, intake by ethnicity to the UK Regulars and Future Reserves 2020.

Ministry of Justice

Plea Bargaining

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many early guilty pleas were made in each of the last five years.

Mike Freer: Early guilty pleas are defined as guilty pleas entered prior to trial. This data is published on a quarterly basis on the Criminal Justice System Delivery Data Dashboard and can be assessed here: Charge to case completion at court - CJS Dashboard (justice.gov.uk). See below for the annual data for early guilty pleas from the last 5 years: 26,611 early guilty pleas made in 2019.23,179 early guilty pleas made in 2020.25,505 early guilty pleas made in 2021.22,601 early guilty pleas made in 2022.12,639 early guilty pleas made in January – June 2023.

Crown Court: Costs

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average cost of a sitting day in the crown court was for each of the last five years.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average (a) daily and (b) annual cost of a trial in the crown court was in each of the last five years.

Mike Freer: The estimated average total cost of a Crown Court sitting day in each of last five financial years is shown in the table below. The average daily cost of a crown court trial is not separable from average cost of a Crown Court sitting day. However, the full average cost of a trial cannot be reliably quantified from available management information sources. These costs include all relevant operational costs borne by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), including a proportional share of the cost of operating the court building. However, other HMCTS corporate overheads such as IT and headquarters functions are excluded. Costs borne by other agencies in the criminal justice system (e.g. spending on legal aid, or by the Crown Prosecution Service) are also excluded. Financial yearAverage cost of a Crown Court sitting day (£)2018-192,7192019-203,2152020-213,5622021-223,0272022-233,036

Probate: Waiting Lists

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help reduce waiting times for grant of probate.

Mike Freer: The probate service received record levels of applications during 2022 and this has continued to grow with higher levels of receipts during January to June 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.HMCTS has significantly increased staffing levels in Probate over the past year to help process applications faster. The training and upskilling of those new and existing staff have led to applications taking longer in the short term.HMCTS have streamlined internal processes to cut down on administrative delay and reduce processing times. We are continuing to invest in improving digital systems and online filing capabilities so users can track progress more easily.Average waiting times for probate grants are routinely published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly and currently cover the period up to June 2023.

Prison Officers: Older Workers

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers are aged over 63 as of 29 November 2023.

Edward Argar: The quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication covers staffing information, including number of staff in post by length of service and grade. The latest publication covers data for up to the period 30 September 2023. Information after this date has not yet been published and so data relating to any period after this date cannot be given. Data for the number of band 3-5 prison officers who were 63 or over as at 30 September 2023 is given as follows: there were 501 (headcount) band 3-5 prison officers in service within HM Prisons and Probation Service who were aged 63 or over as at 30 September 2023. Band 3-5 Officers includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officers (including specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officers, and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.

Prisoners: Men

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of incarcerated males who come from single-mother households as of 23 November 2023.

Edward Argar: The information requested is not routinely collected, and could not be made available without incurring disproportionate cost.A study carried out in 2012 provides information about prisoners’ family circumstances as children, though this is not disaggregated to the level requested. It can be found at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7c543de5274a1b00423088/prisoners-childhood-family-backgrounds.pdf.

Prison and Probation Service: Vans

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the (a) average age of a prison van and (b) oldest prison van in use by His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service is as of 27 November 2023.

Gareth Bacon: The average age of a prison van is 9 years old.The oldest prison van is 16 years old.

Department for Transport

Driving Tests

Sarah Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of practical driving tests.

Guy Opperman: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) priority is to reduce car practical driving test waiting times, whilst upholding road safety standards. To increase the number of available test slots, it is conducting tests outside of regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from driving examiners.Since April 2021, measures put in place by the DVSA to reduce waiting times for its customers, together with the ongoing recruitment of driving examiners, is creating on average over 42,900 extra car test slots each month.The DVSA has deployed all eligible managers and administrative staff back on the front line to do driving tests from the beginning of October until the end of March, which will create around 150,000 additional test slots. As of 27 November 2023, there were 546,702 car practical driving tests booked, and 96,449 driving tests still available within the 24-week booking window.

Dual Carriageways: Speed Limits

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many sections of dual carriageway are subject to reduced speed limits due to the condition of central reservation safety barriers as of 28 November 2023.

Guy Opperman: There are currently no speed restrictions in place on any stretch of dual carriageway on the Strategic Road Network due to the condition of the central reservation safety barriers.

Bus Services: North East

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to research conducted by Friends of the Earth published on 28 November 2023, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the findings on changes to bus service levels in the North East.

Guy Opperman: The Government provided over £2 billion in emergency and recovery funding from March 2020 to June 2023 to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic and help protect services. Due to this funding, bus service mileage in England outside London remained at approximately 80% of pre-COVID levels in 2020/21, despite patronage dropping to 10% of pre-pandemic levels during the height of the pandemic.To continue to support bus services in the North East, the Prime Minister announced £1 billion to deliver better services in the Midlands and North as part of Network North. Of the initial £150 million allocation, the North East will receive £11.2 million and details on future allocation will be published in due course. In May, we announced a long-term approach to protect and improve bus services backed by an additional £300 million from July 2023 until April 2025. This funding is in addition to the £163 million the Government is providing to the North East to help local areas level up their bus services and deliver their Bus Service Improvement Plan. Local transport authorities and bus operators in the North East receive funding under the Bus Service Operator Grant to keep fares down and run services that might otherwise be unprofitable and could lead to cancellation. To support this, the Government provides up to £259 million annually for the national scheme.

Bus Services: North East

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of franchising bus services for communities in the North East.

Guy Opperman: The Government will support any Local Transport Authority (LTA) wishing to franchise their bus services, including those in the North East. The Transport Act 2000 provides automatic access to franchising powers for Mayoral Combined Authorities in England. Other authorities can request those powers but need to demonstrate that franchising is the best option to deliver improvements for passengers. It is for an LTA to conduct an assessment of any proposed franchising scheme for their area.

Bus Services: North East

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to support rural bus services in (a) Wansbeck constituency, (b) Berwick-upon-Tweed constituency, (c) Blyth Valley constituency, (d) Hexham constituency, (e) Northumberland and (f) the rest of the North East.

Guy Opperman: The Government is investing over £2 billion in funding for Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) to deliver their Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs). This includes £1 billion from redirected HS2 funding to level up bus services in the North and Midlands as part of Network North. The support provided for bus services (including rural bus services) in the North East is £175 million, covering both the North East Combined Authority (NECA) and the North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA).This figure includes both BSIP funding and Network North BSIP funding up to March 2025. In addition, our £20 million Rural Mobility Fund (RMF) is supporting 16 innovative, demand-led minibus trials in rural and suburban areas across 16 local authorities in England. These pilots are exploring whether Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) can serve these communities more effectively than traditional public transport solutions alone.On top of this, we have announced that a new uplift of 60% will be added to Community Transport Operators’ (CTOs) Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) claims until 31 March 2025.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussion he has had with car insurance providers on (a) changes in the price of car insurance renewals in the last 12 months and (b) the potential impact of such changes on consumers.

Guy Opperman: Department for transport officials regularly liaise with representatives of the motor insurance industry on a variety of issues such as the cost of insurance. However, it is the responsibility of individual motor insurers to set their premiums and the terms and conditions of their policies, and the Government does not intervene or seek to control the market.

Driving Tests

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the length of time for which a driving theory test certificate is valid.

Guy Opperman: It is important road safety knowledge and hazard perception skills are up to date at the critical point a person drives unsupervised for the first time.The maximum duration of two years between passing the theory test and a subsequent practical test is in place to ensure a candidate’s road safety knowledge and ability to identify developing hazards is current. This validity period is set in legislation and the Government has no current plans to lay further legislation to extend it.Ensuring new drivers have current relevant knowledge and skills is a vital part of the preparation of new drivers, who are disproportionality represented in casualty statistics. Learners will therefore need to pass another theory test if their certificate expires.

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to tackle pavement parking.

Guy Opperman: Local authorities already have powers to restrict pavement parking. The Department has undertaken a consultation on additional options to help councils tackle this problem and we will publish a formal response in due course.

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to tackle pavement parking where alternatives are available; whether he has had discussions with city councils on the potential merits of prohibiting pavement parking where it is feasible; what assessment he has made of the minimum width of footway needed to be accessible for all disabled people; and whether he is taking steps to help reduce the potential impact of pavement parking on bus journey times.

Guy Opperman: The Department is fully aware that pavement parking can pose problems for all pedestrians, particularly for people with sight or mobility impairments. Local authorities already have powers to restrict pavement parking. We have undertaken a consultation on additional options to help councils tackle pavement parking outside London and it received views on many issues including minimum footway clearances and public transport. We will publish our formal response in due course.The Department has produced good practice guidance on designing accessible public realm, in Inclusive Mobility: A Guide to Best Practice on Access to Pedestrian and Transport Infrastructure. This includes recommendations on minimum footway widths. Inclusive Mobility can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-mobility-making-transport-accessible-for-passengers-and-pedestrians

Buses: Spare Parts

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that bus parts are readily available.

Guy Opperman: Bus operators are private companies and are therefore responsible for this and work with suppliers to secure their supply chains.

Railway Stations: Demonstrations

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of pro-Palestine protests at train stations on commuters.

Huw Merriman: Ministers have been closely involved in discussions between the Department and the British Transport Police (BTP) on the impact of and approach to managing protests at railway stations.We support the right to protest, but abuse, intimidation or violence – especially that which is religiously motivated - will never be tolerated on the railway. BTP officers will not hesitate to take robust action against those who seek to cause harm or hate.

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the cost to the public purse of damage to pavements caused by pavement parking in each of the last five years.

Guy Opperman: The Department is fully aware that pavement parking can pose problems for all pedestrians, including from damage to pavements. Local authorities are responsible for pavement maintenance and already have powers to tackle pavement parking by implementing Traffic Regulation Orders. The Department has consulted on further options to help local authorities outside London tackle this issue and will publish a formal response when final decisions have been taken. Any new measures will be accompanied by an impact assessment, which will include an estimate of the cost of damage to pavements caused by pavement parking.

Parking: Gateshead

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to tackle pavement parking in Gateshead constituency.

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has had recent discussions with Gateshead Council on the potential merits of prohibiting pavement parking in Gateshead.

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of levels of support for a default pavement parking ban among the general public.

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of pavement parking on levels of social isolation.

Guy Opperman: The Department is fully aware that pavement parking can pose problems for pedestrians, particularly for people with sight or mobility impairments. Local authorities already have powers to restrict pavement parking, but the Department has consulted on additional measures to help councils tackle this problem. The Department has not had recent discussions with Gateshead Council, but the consultation was open to all local authorities.

Motorcycles

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to increase the uptake of (a) mopeds and (b) motorcycles.

Guy Opperman: The Government seeks to enable people to choose how best to make journeys; we do not favour or promote any particular form of motorised personal transport. We are focused on ensuring the road system is safe and efficient for all users, for example through the measures in The Plan for Drivers from which riders will also benefit. These measures include fixing roads faster, better traffic lights and having the right speed limits in the right place.

Railway Stations: Self Harm and Suicide

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken with rail companies to help reduce rates of (a) suicide and (b) self-harm at railway stations in (i) Romford constituency and (ii) England.

Huw Merriman: Every rail operator is required to have a live Suicide Prevention Plan which covers requirements such as training of public facing staff in suicide prevention, putting in place mitigation measures at stations and promoting help seeking behaviour to vulnerable people at risk of suicide or self-harm. Furthermore, every operator is also required to obtain and maintain accreditation to the Safeguarding on Rail Scheme, which is assessed independently by British Transport Police (BTP). The scheme requires operators to demonstrate how they are actively supporting vulnerable people on their network. The BTP carries out a site visit following every suspected suicide on the railway to mitigate against future loss of life at the same location, and has a dedicated Harm Reduction Team (Hart) who work one to one with vulnerable individuals, joining up local authorities, the NHS and others to ensure the person is cared for and prevented from harming themselves on the rail network.

Large Goods Vehicles: Carbon Emissions

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the carbon emissions emitted by HGVs compared to cars.

Anthony Browne: In 2021, heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) emitted 21.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions (measured in CO2e) in the UK. In the same year, cars emitted 56.9 million tonnes of carbon emissions.

Motorcycles: Carbon Emissions

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of his Department's steps to decarbonise L-Category vehicles.

Anthony Browne: The consultation on when to end the sale of new non-zero emission L-category vehicles (including mopeds and motorcycles) was open to responses from 14 July to 21 September 2022 and was supported by a thorough programme of engagement with stakeholders. The Department is now analysing the responses and will bring forward the Government’s response in due course.Government policies are already in place to support the transition, such as the Plug-in Motorcycle Grant. The Government also made up to £350,000 of funding available for research and development projects to grow the zero-emission motorcycle supply chain in the UK. However, the Government appreciates that there are technology and infrastructure considerations for these vehicles as they transition and will continue to work with the sector to support and examine how to best overcome demand side challenges, including the infrastructure needs of zero emission L-category vehicles.

Large Goods Vehicles: Electric Vehicles

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to take steps to encourage private investment in the electrification of the HGV fleet.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made a comparative assessment of the charging infrastructure that will be required to support the electrification of (a) HGV's and (b) cars.

Anthony Browne: The Department is working with industry stakeholders to develop a zero emission HGV and coach infrastructure strategy for publication in 2024. The strategy will set strategic direction and outline the respective roles and responsibilities of both government and industry to ensure the delivery of the refuelling and recharging infrastructure required to meet the 2035 and 2040 end of sale dates for new non-zero emission HGVs. This follows on from the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy, which focused on cars and vans.

Electric Vehicles: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport,  with reference to the report by the Office for Budget Responsibility entitled Economic and Fiscal Outlook November 2023, published on 22 November 2023, if he will make an estimate of the potential impact of the revised forecast of electric vehicle take-up in 2027 on greenhouse gas emissions.

Anthony Browne: The report published by the Office for Budget Responsibility includes revised forecasts for electric vehicle take-up, which are made independently of Government. These forecasts now more closely align with projections produced by the Department, reflecting the ZEV targets set out in the Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes Order 2023, introducing a Zero Emission Vehicle mandate GB-wide.A comprehensive Cost Benefit Analysis accompanying this legislation includes the assessment of carbon savings out to 2050, with analysis estimating 411MTCO2e in carbon savings for GB between 2024-2050

Large Goods Vehicles: Carbon Emissions

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government plans to provide funding to small hauliers to incentivise the transition to zero emission vehicles.

Anthony Browne: Government grants have been in place for over a decade to help reduce the up-front purchase price of electric vehicles. Since 2011, the Government has provided over £1.8 billion in grant funding to bring ultra-low emission vehicles onto UK roads, which has supported over 500,000 ULEVs. 355,000 of which are zero emission vehicles. The Plug-in Van and Truck Grants remain available until at least the financial year 2024/25. Through these grants, customers can secure funds of up to £2,500 for small vans and £5,000 for large vans. All Plug-in Vehicle grants are kept under continual review to ensure best value for money for the taxpayer.

West Midlands Trains: Rolling Stock

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the number of West Midland Trains depot facilities that will be available for the new Class 730 train fleet.

Huw Merriman: As part of the West Midlands Trains (WMT) National Rail Contract, WMT is required to provide sufficient depot and stabling facilities for the new Class 730 train fleet and has developed plans to provide these. Work is already underway at Bletchley and should start next year at another site. Until these are completed, interim arrangements will be used as required.

Railway Stations: Disability

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on people with disabilities of staffing unstaffed stations.

Huw Merriman: Staffing levels at railway stations is a matter for each train operator which are required by the Office of Rail and Road to establish and comply with an Accessible Travel Policy (ATP). An ATP sets out, among other things, the arrangements and assistance that an operator will provide to protect the interests of disabled people using its services and to facilitate such use.

Rolling Stock: Repairs and Maintenance

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) Alstom, (b) Corelink and (c) West Midlands Trains on future maintenance (i) requirements and (ii) responsibility for the new Class 730 fleet.

Huw Merriman: Department officials meet with WMT regularly to monitor and review their delivery of contractual obligations and their progress with National Rail Contract requirements including future maintenance requirements and responsibilities. WMT have prime responsibility for engagement with Alstom and Corelink through their contractual agreements, although those parties also occasionally speak to officials directly.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Huawei

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Huawei legal notices issued, published on 13 October 2022, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of that decision.

Sir John Whittingdale: No public funding has been issued to telecoms operators to support the implementation of the legal notices issued in respect of Huawei. The Impact Assessment published alongside the Telecommunications (Security) Bill estimated that the costs of monitoring compliance with the national security power, under which the legal notices were issued, would be between £7 million and £11.7 million over the period 2020-2029. This includes between £1.7 million and £2.8 million for the Department, and between £5.4 million and £8.9 million for Ofcom. Last year, Ofcom was awarded £21m in additional funding to be spent over the subsequent three years (22/23, 23/24 and 24/25) to reflect its additional responsibilities under the Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021. The funding is ring-fenced for telecoms security. The majority of the funding is to support Ofcom’s compliance and enforcement of the Telecommunications (Security Measures) Regulations 2022 and Telecommunications Security Code of Practice 2022, but it also includes resources required to respond to any monitoring directions issued by DSIT in relation to designated vendor directions.

STEM Subjects: Employment

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2023 to Question 795 on STEM Subjects: Employment, how much her Department has spent on communications campaigns on diversity in the private sector STEM workforce in the latest period for which data is available.

Andrew Griffith: The Government Science and Engineering Profession, based in the Government Office for Science, does not/has not spent any funds on communication campaigns on diversity in the private sector STEM workforce.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Research

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing public funding for research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help facilitate research into the (a) causes and (b) treatment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.

Andrew Griffith: Since 2012, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)’s Medical Research Council (MRC) has awarded £6.2 million for research on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). This includes DecodeME, a significant strategic initiative co-funded by the National Institute of Health and Care Research in 2020, which aims to find genetic causes of ME/CFS in order to better understand the disease and ultimately to find treatments. The Government works with the ME/CFS Priority Setting Partnership to identify research priorities in this area and MRC has an open highlight notice to encourage ME/CFS research.

Horizon Europe

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether universities that received Horizon Europe guarantee funding were required to meet Horizon Europe Gender Equality Plan eligibility criterion.

Andrew Griffith: In November 2021, the Government announced the Horizon Europe Guarantee to address the delays in formalising the UK's association to Horizon Europe. Eligible, successful applicants to Horizon Europe receive the full value of their funding for the lifetime of their grants. Successful awardees do not need to leave the UK to receive this funding. As of 31 October 2023, UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) has issued 2,736 Grant Offer Letters for awards of £1.43 billion. Guarantee award winners are asked to develop and maintain gender equality plans for the project in line with Horizon Europe’s standard procedures.

Innovation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2023 to Question 1560 on Science: Research, when the Department plans to publish the interactive digital tool to map the UK’s innovation clusters.

Andrew Griffith: The Government expects to launch the interactive digital tool to map the UK’s innovation clusters shortly. This follows engagement with a range of stakeholders, from investors and businesses to local government leaders, to inform and test the design of the tool.

Francis Crick Institute: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what funding the government has provided to support the commercialisation office of the Francis Crick Institute since the foundation of that Institute.

Andrew Griffith: I refer my Hon Member to the reply I gave in UIN 3806.

Research Bureaucracy Review

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the reason is for the time taken to publish the government response to the Independent Review of Research Bureaucracy.

Andrew Griffith: I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave to UIN 4147.

Pro-innovation Regulation of Technologies Review

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what progress her Department has made on implementing HM Government Response to Sir Patrick Vallance’s Pro-Innovation Regulation of Technologies Review Green Industries, published in March 2023.

Andrew Griffith: In March 2023, the government endorsed all recommendations outlined in Sir Patrick Vallance's review on pro-innovation regulations for green industries. Currently, multiple government departments are implementing these recommendations. At the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor set out a package to unlock investment into green industries including reforming planning processes, speeding up grid connections, and consulting on introducing new permitted development rights to end the blanket restriction on heat pumps one metre from a property boundary in England.

Space

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the National Space Strategy published on 27 September 2021, what steps she is taking to modernise the international guidelines governing the peaceful use of space.

Andrew Griffith: The UK Government is committed to the advancement of the peaceful use and exploration of outer space. The UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) is the primary multilateral forum which sets the future of global space law and guidelines for the benefit of all humanity: for peace, security and development. The UK attends COPUOS and its subcommittees, playing a significant role to shape law and guidelines that are fit for the future, strengthening relationships with Member Nations and showcasing UK thought leadership in space sustainability. We also work closely with the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs and fund projects to support the peaceful uses of space, including the implementation of the Long-term Sustainability (LTS) Guidelines: publishing them in all six official UN languages and capacity building tools for emerging space nations. We and our experts in the UK Space Agency continue to work in these forums to improve the LTS guidelines and add to the range of guidance available.

Satellite Applications Catapult

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the National Space Strategy published on 27 September 2021, what support she is providing to the Satellite Applications Catapult.

Andrew Griffith: In the Autumn Statement 2022, the Government confirmed funding of £1.6 billion for the Satellite Application Catapults for the next five years, from April 2023 to March 2028, which is a 35 per cent increase compared to the previous five years. Catapults support innovation and commercialisation by providing access to world-leading facilities, skills, and equipment across the UK. Each of the UK's nine Catapults are funded by Innovate UK to drive innovation and commercialisation at the interface between universities and business. The Satellite Applications Catapult core grant funding figures for 2018-2023 are as follows: Core funding by Catapult (FY18/19 – FY22/23)2018/192019/202020/212021/222022/23Total £m£m£m£m£m£mSatellite Applications11.0012.0011.9015.2018.4068.50

Space

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to p.28 of the National Space Strategy, published in September 2021, what steps she is taking to help the Knowledge Transfer Network work with businesses in the (a) space sector and (b) across the economy to (i) connect and (ii) collaborate with (A) partners, (B) suppliers, (C) customers and (D) the research community.

Andrew Griffith: The Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) is an active participant in Space Partnership working groups. The Space Partnership brings together industry, academia and government stakeholders to work together on priority issues, such as capabilities and skills, to realise the ambitions set out in the National Space Strategy and grow the UK space sector.

Department for Work and Pensions

Household Support Fund

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to extend the Household Support Fund beyond 31 March 2024.

Mims Davies: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ3412.

Children: Poverty

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of how many and what proportion of children were living in poverty in 2010 based on his Department's households below average income data.

Mims Davies: The latest available National statistics on child poverty covering 2021/22 are available here. This Government has overseen significant falls in absolute poverty since 2009/10. Both rates and numbers of children in absolute poverty (60% of 2010/11 median income, both before and after housing costs) were lower in 2021/22 than in 2009/10. In 2009/10, 28% (3.7m) children were living in absolute poverty after housing costs. In 2021/22, 23% (3.3m) children were living in absolute poverty after housing costs. This means that, in 2021/22, there were 400,000 fewer children in absolute poverty after housing costs than in 2009/10, a decrease of 5 percentage points.

Social Security Benefits: Children

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of ending the two-child limit on the number of children living in poverty; and if he will make an estimate of the potential cost to the public purse of such a decision.

Mims Davies: There are no plans to review this policy. The latest available estimate of the potential cost to the public purse of such a decision was made in 2019, and can be found here.

Work Capability Assessment: Mental Health

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people in chronic mental health crisis and chronic psychosis are not excluded from the substantial risk category of limited capability for work-related activity.

Tom Pursglove: People who experience severe and enduring mental health problems have one of the lowest employment rates in the UK. Yet the vast majority want to work, and with the right support many people can. Our aim is to support those who want to work, aiming to remove this inequitable approach to supporting people back to work. We have listened to stakeholder concerns about the impact on vulnerable customers of removing Limited Capability for Work Related Activity Substantial Risk (LCWRA risk) altogether and agree that LCWRA risk should be preserved for the most vulnerable. We will realign LCWRA risk with its original aim of applying only in exceptional circumstances, whilst still protecting and safeguarding the most vulnerable, which will include those who are at serious risk of suicide or self-harm. We propose that the criteria should include those who are currently in crisis under home treatment plans and those with an active psychotic illness, which will capture those who have recently, or may require, home treatment intervention because of their mental health condition. We will work alongside clinicians to define the criteria and the medical evidence needed from claimants and people involved in their care, to ensure the process is safe, fair, and clear.

Employment Schemes: Disclosure of Information

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November to Question 1648 on Employment Schemes: Chronic Illnesses and Disability, if he will provide an anticipated timeline for the publication of that information.

Tom Pursglove: The main phase of Universal Support is in the early stages of development. As part of this, we are considering the information that will be published.

Personal Independence Payment: Internet

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to allow Personal Independence Payment applications to be made online.

Tom Pursglove: The Health Transformation Programme (HTP) is modernising health and disability benefit services. We are developing the new service carefully, designing it around the needs of claimants.We have introduced a digital version of the PIP2 health questionnaire, which is now offered to the majority of those making a claim. This is offered to those who call us to begin their claim.We have also begun trialling a fully online application for PIP. Since 27 July, people in selected postcode districts may be able to apply for PIP online via GOV.UK if they:Live in England.Are claiming for themselves or helping someone with their claim.Are not already claiming PIP or Disability Living Allowance (DLA), or have a previous PIP/DLA claim.The online service is an additional optional route to apply for PIP and is not replacing the existing methods of telephony or post. The current testing phase is allowing us to test the functionality and stability of the service; the department intends to scale the service gradually and safely. We aim to make the online applications for PIP available nationally across England, Wales and Northern Ireland by the end of 2024.

Personal Independence Payment: Charcot Marie Tooth Disease

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that Personal Independence Payment assessment providers have awareness of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

Tom Pursglove: Personal Independence Payment assessment providers (APs) are required to ensure that all health professionals (HP) carrying out assessments are experts in disability analysis, focusing on the effects of health conditions and impairments on the individual claimant's daily life Whilst HPs do not receive specific training relating to Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, they have access to a range of resources as well as experienced clinicians who can support them in assessing individuals with conditions that they may not be familiar with. APs also engage with medical experts, charities, and relevant stakeholders to strengthen their training programmes. In the Health & Disability White Paper, the department committed to developing the skills of HPs. As a result, the department began a proof of concept to match an individual's primary health condition to a HP who has professional experience in their condition. In addition to their professional experience, HPs will also take part in training to specialise in the functional impacts of specific health conditions.

Work Capability Assessment: Parkinson's Disease

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the role of informal observations made by PIP assessors in mandatory reconsiderations for PIP where the claimant has a diagnosis of Parkinson’s.

Tom Pursglove: Entitlement to PIP is assessed based on the needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability, not the health condition or disability itself. The PIP Assessment Guide, used by health professionals who conduct PIP assessments, sets out how informal observations of functional limitations should be used. Informal observations can be a way to reveal abilities and limitations not mentioned in the claimant questionnaire, supporting evidence, or history taking during the consultation. However, they are only part of the suite of evidence considered by health professionals during an assessment. They must also consider the invisible nature of some symptoms, such as fatigue and pain which may be less easy to identify through observation. Informal observations included in a health professional’s advice to DWP are not viewed in isolation; they are considered alongside all other available evidence to determine PIP entitlement.

Motability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people had their Motability allowance stopped in each of the last three financial years; and how many of those people had their allowance stopped after moving from Disability Living Allowance to Personal Independence Payment.

Tom Pursglove: Individuals can opt to receive a Motability vehicle if they are awarded an Enhanced Mobility Personal Independence Payment (PIP) award or Higher Mobility Disability Living Allowance (DLA) award. Information on how many people have stopped receiving a Motability vehicle is not readily available for PIP claimants and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The department does not hold the data requested for DLA claimants, and thus also not of those who have moved from DLA to PIP.

Cold Weather Payments: Hornsey and Wood Green

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cold weather payments were made to pensioners in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency in (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23; and what the total value of those payments were.

Paul Maynard: The Cold Weather Payment (CWP) scheme is administered at weather station level rather than at a constituency or regional level. The coverage area for each weather station is determined by the Met Office, which assesses the most appropriate weather station for each postcode area. Cold weather payments are triggered when the average temperature recorded at the weather station has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, 0° C or below over seven consecutive days, during the Cold Weather season (November to March). The constituency of Hornsey and Wood Green covers all or part of the following postcode areas: N2, N4, N6, N8, N10, N11, N13, N17, N22 and N81[1]. For the 2021/22 and 2022/23 Cold Weather Payment seasons, the above postcode areas are covered by the weather station Heathrow. Heathrow weather station covers the following postcode areas, in Table 1, which include constituencies other than Hornsey and Wood Green. Table 1 Postcode districts mapped to Weather StationsWeather stationPostcode Districts CoveredHeathrowBR1-4, CR0, CR2-8, E1-18, E20, E1W, EC1A, EC1M, EC1N, EC1R, EC1V,EC1Y, EC2A, EC2M, EC2N, EC2R, EC2V, EC2Y, EC3A, EC3M, EC3N, EC3R, EC3V, EC4A, EC4M, EC4N, EC4R, EC4V, EC4Y, EN1-5, EN7-11, HA0-9, IG1-11, KT1-24, N1-22, N1C, NW1-11, SE1-28, SL0, SL3, SM1-7, SW2-20, SW1A, SW1E, SW1H, SW1P, SW1V, SW1W, SW1X, SW1Y TW1-20, UB1-11, W2-14, W1B-D, W1F-H, W1J-K, W1S-U, W1W, WC1A-B, WC1E, WC1H, WC1N, WC1R, WC1V, WC1X, WC2A-B, WC2E, WC2H, WC2N, WC2R Qualifying individuals living in these postcode districts will have received a payment in respect of a seven-day period of Cold Weather. For the 21/22 Cold Weather Payment season, running from 1 November 2021 to 31 March 2022, there were 0 Cold Weather Payment triggers for Heathrow weather station. For the 22/23 Cold Weather Payment season, running from 1 November 2022 to 31 March 2023, there was 1 Cold Weather Payment trigger for Heathrow weather station. The estimated payments to Pension Credit recipients during 22/23 Cold Weather Payment season is 180,000, equating to an estimated spend of £4.5 million. [1] Postcode information was obtained from the ONS Postcode Directory (November 2023): ONS Postcode Directory (November 2023) | Open Geography Portal (statistics.gov.uk)

Social Security Benefits

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the potential cost to the public purse of applying the triple lock to the uprating of social security benefits in financial year 2024-25.

Paul Maynard: The triple lock is this Government’s commitment to increase the new and basic State Pensions annually in line with the highest of the increase in prices, the growth in average earnings, or 2.5%. Accordingly, the Secretary of State has decided that – subject to Parliamentary approval – for the financial year 2024/25, the new and basic State Pensions, along with the Standard Minimum Guarantee in Pension Credit, will increase by 8.5%, in line with the growth in average earnings. Working-age and extra-costs disability benefit rates will – also subject to Parliamentary approval – increase by 6.7%, in line with the increase in prices and in accordance with the provisions of the Social Security Administration Act 1992. Using 8.5% instead of 6.7% for these benefits would potentially add approximately £2.3bn to the cost of the social security system in that year.

Cold Weather Payments

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support pensioners over winter 2023-24.

Paul Maynard: The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living which is why it is providing total support of over £94bn in 2022/23 and 2023/24 to help households and individuals with their rising bills. This winter over 8 million pensioner households will receive a £300 pensioner Cost of Living Payment in addition to their conventional Winter Fuel Payment. This means that a household with someone aged 66-79 will receive an increased payment of £500 and a household with someone aged 80 or over will receive an increased payment of £600. Most payments will be made automatically in November and December.Cold Weather Payments are also available to help vulnerable people in receipt of certain income-related benefits in England and Wales to meet additional heating costs, during periods of unseasonably cold weather between 1 November and 31 March. This includes older people in receipt of Pension Credit. Those eligible will automatically receive £25 when the average temperature has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, 0°C or below over seven consecutive days. We continue to maximise opportunities to raise awareness of Pension Credit. On 28 November, we launched the ‘Countdown to Deadline Day’ media push, highlighting that there is still time to apply for Pension Credit by the 10 December and be eligible for a £300 Cost of Living Payment (payable to those on income-related benefits including Pension Credit), thanks to the Pension Credit backdating rules. Our messaging also emphasises that the average Pension Credit award is now worth over £3,900 per year and that an award of Pension Credit can open the door to a range of other support, including help with housing costs, council tax and heating bills.

Attorney General

Hare Coursing: Prosecutions

Richard Fuller: To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the Answers of 25 October 2023 to Question 203472 on Hare Coursing: Convictions and Prosecutions and 28 February 2018 to Question 129098 on Hare Coursing: Prosecutions, when the Crown Prosecution Service ceased maintaining a central record of the number of prosecutions for offences of hare coursing; and for what reason.

Michael Tomlinson: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has never maintained a central record of the number of prosecutions specifically for offences of hare coursing and only holds data on the number of offences prosecuted under the Game Act 1831, the Night Poaching Act 1828 and the Hunting Act 2004, which all encompass hare coursing.The CPS does not collect data that constitutes official statistics as defined in the Statistics and Registration Act 2007.While the CPS does not centrally collate data showing the number of prosecutions involving hare coursing, management information data is available which shows the number of offences charged by way of the Game Act 1831, the Night Poaching Act 1928 and the Hunting Act 2004, in which a prosecution commenced. The table below shows the number of these offences recorded during each of the last three years.   Financial Year 2020-2021Financial Year 2021-2022Financial Year 2022-2023Game Act 18315312167Hunting Act 2004288682Night Poaching Act 1828212840Data Source: CPS Case Management System  It should be noted that the figures relate to the number of offences and not the number of individual defendants. It may be the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence. No data are held on the final outcome or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at finalisation.The official statistics relating to crime and policing are maintained by the Home Office and the official statistics relating to sentencing, criminal court proceedings, offenders brought to justice, the courts and the judiciary are maintained by the Ministry of Justice.

Department for Business and Trade

Employment: Attendance

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to enforce attendance at the workplace.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Government has no plans to make an assessment of bringing forward legislative proposals to enforce attendance at the workplace. The Government has been clear that it is for individual employers, working with their employees, to make arrangements which best suit both parties.

Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will take legislative steps to require Royal Mail to (a) notify Ofcom of and (b) publish live data on ongoing failures to maintain the universal service obligation.

Kevin Hollinrake: Ofcom has powers to monitor Royal Mail’s performance and requires the business to publish quarterly reports and an annual summary of its performance against its delivery service targets. In its review of postal regulation last year, Ofcom decided that the existing quality of service standards for universal service products remain appropriate. It noted that it receives regular information from Royal Mail, including at delivery office-level, which allow it to engage with the company and exert pressure when necessary.

Garages and Petrol Stations

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had recent discussions with local authority trading standards departments on the accuracy of fuel pumps at filling stations; and if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of levels of testing on fuel pumps.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is a part of the Department for Business and Trade. OPSS engages with trading standards on many issues related to protecting consumers, including the enforcement of weights and measure legislation.Local Weights and Measures Authorities in Great Britain have a statutory duty to report on the level of local weights and measures enforcement work they undertake which includes liquid fuel measuring instruments such as petrol pumps. The latest Section 70 Weights and Measures report covering data for the year up to 31st March 2023 was published in September.As stated in the report, 19 inspections of LFMIs resulted in prosecution or caution in 2022-23.

Industrial Relations

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the report of the Committee on Freedom of Association of the International Labour Organization on Case No. 3432 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, whether her Department plans to take steps to implement the recommendations in paragraph 651 of that report.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Government will consider the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Committee on Freedom of Association’s recommendations and will provide information on these to the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) in due course. The Government remains committed to all ILO Conventions we have ratified, including Convention 87 on the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, and Convention 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining.

Trade Agreements: Israel

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what her Department's policy is on negotiating a geographically explicit territorial clause in any free trade agreement with Israel.

Greg Hands: The UK does not recognise the Occupied Palestinian Territories as part of Israel. Under the existing UK-Israel trade agreement, goods originating from illegal Israeli settlements are not entitled to tariff and trade preferences under either the agreement between the UK and Israel, nor the agreement between the UK and the Palestinian Authority. The Government can confirm that this will not change in the upgraded Free Trade Agreement.

Business

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment her Department has made of the impact of the UK's departure from the EU on businesses.

Greg Hands: The Trade and Cooperation Agreement is a comprehensive FTA that enables tariff-and quota-free trade in goods for UK businesses with the EU.This Government is committed to using our post-Brexit freedoms to help businesses expand, create more jobs and grow the UK economy. We have already secured trade deals with 73 countries, plus the EU, that accounted for £1.1 trillion of UK bilateral trade last year. Our total exports to the world increased by 29% in current prices since 2018, whilst our exports to the EU have increased by 21% in current prices.

UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the impact of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement on levels of trade.

Greg Hands: The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) ensures that UK businesses can trade with the EU tariff-and quota-free. The EU remains a vital export destination for British businesses. In the 12 months to June 2023 total exports to the EU were up 21% on pre-pandemic (2018) levels in current prices.The UK is now more open to the world. We're using our post Brexit-freedoms to unlock fresh export opportunities. We have already secured trade deals with 73 countries plus the EU that accounted for £1.1 trillion of UK bilateral trade last year.

UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement: Service Industries

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the impact of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the services sector.

Greg Hands: The services sector is the main driver of the UK economy - contributing around 80% of UK GDP every year and employing around 80% of the workforce. GDP for the services sector has grown around 5% in real terms (inflation adjusted) since 2018.The UK is the second largest exporter of services in the world (behind the United States) and exports from the UK services sector are at a record high - reaching £463 billion in the latest ONS figures - 13% higher than 2018 levels (inflation adjusted).

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Dogs: Animal Breeding

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions the Chief Veterinary Officer has had with representatives of countries where puppies are bred for illegal importation into the UK; and what commitments have been obtained from those countries.

Mark Spencer: The Chief Veterinary Officer regularly engages with her counterparts in other countries regarding animal welfare issues, including illegal puppy importation.

Dogs: Smuggling

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent the illegal importation of puppies from EU countries.

Mark Spencer: The Government is committed to delivering our manifesto commitment to crack down on puppy smuggling. We plan to take forward legislative measures to tackle puppy smuggling as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Dogs: Smuggling

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of canine brucellosis from dogs imported illegally from the EU on the UK dog population; and what steps he is taking to help mitigate that impact.

Mark Spencer: The Government takes biosecurity seriously and has taken steps to mitigate the risk of Brucella canis. We made detection of Brucella canis in dogs reportable in April 2021. We have also published information for veterinary professionals and pet owners and have worked with stakeholders to disseminate advice and recommended actions to veterinary surgeons, rescue and rehoming organisations and dog breeding associations. We continue to gather information on the disease risk posed by Brucella canis and will consider any further actions as appropriate.

Air Pollution

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with local authorities on steps to improve air quality.

Robbie Moore: Defra officials have regular discussions with local authorities, including on local air quality management and supporting local action. The Joint Air Quality Unit works closely with local authorities in the NO2 Programme to develop and deliver Clean Air Plans to deliver compliance with legal NO2 limits in the shortest possible time. The revised Air Quality Strategy published on 28 April 2023, provides a framework for local authorities to make best use of their powers in improving air quality for their communities. Building on the Strategy, in September of this year we held a national event for local authorities across England to promote the powers available to local authorities to improve air quality, raise the profile of air quality within local authorities and strengthen understanding of the impacts of air pollution.

Fishing Vessels: Inspections

George Eustice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times fisheries patrol vessels boarded and inspected UK registered fisheries vessels in each year between 2018 to 2022 inclusive.

George Eustice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times fisheries patrol vessels boarded and inspected EU registered fisheries vessels in each year between 2018 and 2022 inclusive.

Mark Spencer: Fisheries control and enforcement is a devolved matter, and each Devolved Administration is responsible for conducting inspections on vessels in their respective zones. Within England, the ten Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities are responsible for compliance and enforcement within inshore waters (0-6 nautical miles (nm)) and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is responsible for control and enforcement of third country vessels and all UK vessels fishing outside of 6nms. There is no fishing allowed by foreign vessels inside 6nms. The number of inspections by MMO patrol vessels of EU vessels at sea in English waters by year are:2018: 962019: 3032020: 1222021: 3032022: 280 The number of inspections by MMO patrol vessels of UK vessels at sea in English waters by year are:2018: 942019: 2452020: 1352021: 2482022: 304

Pets: Theft

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals on (a) cat and (b) other pet theft.

Mark Spencer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 14 November 2023 to the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby, PQ 599.

Dangerous Dogs

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of dog legislation officer capacity to implement the ban on American Bully XL type dogs.

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for dog legislation officers to be trained to enforce the ban on American Bully XL type dogs.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dog legislation officers are employed by the police; and whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of those numbers to successfully identify American Bully XLs.

Mark Spencer: We will be supporting the police to deliver additional training to Dog Legislation Officers to make sure the ban is effectively enforced. We are liaising with the Home Office about any additional resourcing needs that may be required once the ban is in force.

Antibiotics: Drug Resistance

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the threat of antimicrobial resistance to human health from overuse of antibiotics on industrial farms.

Mark Spencer: The Government takes a ‘One-Health’ approach to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as set out in the ‘UK 5-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance 2019 to 2024’, which is underpinned by the UK’s 20-year Vision to Contain and Control AMR by 2040 . Defra is a co-signatory with the Department of Health and Social Care on the 5-year National Acton Plan and 20-year vision on AMR, and Defra leads on delivering the animal, plant and environment elements. The UK is committed to reducing unnecessary use of antibiotics in animals to reduce the risk of development and spread of AMR in animals and humans. In the UK, we have a well-established antimicrobial use and resistance surveillance programme, which includes monitoring of sales and use of antibiotics in animals as well as routine monitoring of AMR in major food-producing species, healthy pigs and poultry. These surveillance programmes allow us to monitor progress and results are published every year in the UK Veterinary Antibiotic Resistance Sales and Surveillance (UK-VARSS) report. The recently published UK-VARSS report shows that sales of antibiotics in food producing animals are at their lowest ever level, with a 59% reduction since 2014. This highlights the success of the UK’s voluntary and collaborative approach between Government and the farming and veterinary sectors to make sustainable reductions in antibiotic use whilst ensuring high animal health and welfare. The report also highlights that sales of highest priority, critically important antibiotics (HP-CIAs) have reduced by 82% since 2014 and account for less than half a percent of total sales. This is to ensure that these medically important antibiotics are protected for use in humans. The newly published third edition of The UK’s One Health report, a joint report from Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) and UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA), brings together antibiotic use and resistance data for people and animals and sales of antibiotics in 2019 show that approximately two thirds of antibiotics are used in people whilst one third are used in animals. This report demonstrates the UK Government’s One Health approach to tackling AMR to keep antibiotics working in both people and animals.

Agriculture: Trade

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing an annual assessment of the potential impact of international trade deals on agriculture.

Mark Spencer: The Government has published Impact Assessments for each of the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) we have agreed, which set out expected impacts for the UK economy and its regions and sectors. The agreements balance open and free trade with protections for the agricultural industry. Defra also monitors and evaluates the impact of FTAs on sectors to ensure that UK businesses are benefitting from FTAs. Following the agreement of FTAs with Australia and New Zealand, a suite of products has been developed to help businesses understand and use new opportunities and make use of the preferential terms. This includes thematic guidance in business-friendly language on key FTA areas such as rules of origin and customs procedures, and sector-specific explainers for businesses looking to understand market opportunities and how to operationalise their export plans.

Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Scheme

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the seasonal agricultural worker scheme on a multi-year basis.

Mark Spencer: We appreciate that farmers would like longer term assurances on the Seasonal Worker visa route, and we continue to work extensively to understand employers’ needs and demands on the visa route through regular engagement with industry. It is currently confirmed until the end of 2024, with an initial visa allocation of 45,000 for horticulture and 2,000 for poultry. To inform future decisions on labour across the sector, the Government commissioned John Shropshire to carry out an independent review considering how automation, domestic labour and migrant labour could contribute to tackling labour shortages in our sectors, including horticulture. The report was published in June 2023, with the Government Response due shortly. At the same time, the Government will set out how it will support the sector to access the labour it needs alongside actions to reduce the sector’s reliance on migrant labour including via our work on automation and promoting domestic labour procurement and training. The Migration Advisory Committee are also carrying out a review of the Seasonal Worker visa route, considering all aspects of the route, with a report due in early 2024.

River Avon: Phosphates

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data his Department holds on (a) the level of phosphorus in, (b) the nutrient budget calculation for phosphorus in, (c) the required reduction in phosphorus levels to meet water quality targets for and (d) the date by which that reduction must be achieved for the River Avon Special Area of Conservation; and what steps Natural England is taking to meet those targets.

Robbie Moore: The Environment Agency (EA) and Natural England (NE) gather monitoring data to track levels of phosphorus in the River Avon Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Phosphorus concentrations in the headwaters of the River Avon are typically around 0.1 mg/L, and in some reaches are even higher, declining to around 0.065 mg/L in the lower reaches. The River Avon Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) sets out further evidence and supporting information on phosphorus levels in the river. This includes information on the reductions in phosphorus loads from different sources that would be required to achieve the SAC water quality targets, and the measures that must be in place in order for these reductions to be achieved. The Environment Agency (EA) and Natural England (NE) have also been reviewing the reduction targets and measures against the updated ‘polluter pays’ fair share targets and will update the NMP as needed following this review. The latest information indicates the annual average nutrient load passing through the Avon (nutrient budget) for the SAC is around 55 tonnes Ortho-phosphorus a year. Reductions to meet the SAC target potentially equate to around 47% from all sources. Subject to Ofwat approval and expected advice from Defra on the implementation of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, necessary water company reductions are expected to be met over PR24 and PR29. The EA and NE will be looking for similar reductions from the agricultural sector over this time frame but details around this need to be finalised. The EA and NE are working with a number of partners, stakeholders and landowners in the River Avon to ensure nutrient loads are managed and reduced effectively. This includes delivering advice schemes like Catchment Sensitive Farming to reduce diffuse pollution from agriculture, supporting innovative river restoration schemes that optimise phosphorus reduction, and providing sustainable development advice to developers. There will be further engagement with stakeholders as part of any NMP update.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Levelling Up Fund

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Levelling Up Fund Round 3: explanatory and methodology note on the decision-making process, published on 20 November 2023, whether his Department requested feedback on the approach taken in previous rounds from local authorities.

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether local authorities were informed of the methodology for the decision-making process for selecting successful bids to Round 3 of the Levelling Up Fund before his Department's publication on 20 November 2023.

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when local authorities were informed of the final decisions for allocation of funds from Round 3 of the Levelling Up Fund.

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, for what reason the Odsal Stadium regeneration bid for Levelling Up Fund Round 3 was rejected.

Jacob Young: On 20 November it was announced that the third round of the Levelling Up Fund will invest £1 billion in 55 projects across Great Britain. This will build on the success of rounds one and two which saw £3.8 billion awarded to 216 projects across the UK.Listening to feedback from parliamentarians and local government, we decided not to run an additional competition, instead drawing on the pool of existing bids submitted at Round 2 which we were not able to fund earlier in the year but were assessed as high quality and ready-to-deliver.This new approach builds on the approach set out in the Funding Simplification Plan and is intended to maximise efficiency and reduce burdens on applicants.The Secretary of State informed the LGA conference, in July, that Round 3 would take a new approach and in October confirmed the intention to announce ahead of the autumn statement.I made an Oral Statement on the 20 November and further details on project selection are set out in our published methodology note. Following rounds 1 and 2 of the Fund, ministers and officials held feedback discussions with unsuccessful local authorities.Before the announcement, officials from my department undertook appropriate due diligence to gauge the viability of the Round 3 selection.

Housing: Birmingham

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the level of demand for new homes in Birmingham City Council area.

Lee Rowley: The National Planning Policy Framework expects local planning authorities to use the standard method to assess their own local housing needs, as a starting point to inform the preparation of their local plans. The standard method was amended in 2020 to add a 35% ‘urban uplift’ to the twenty largest towns and cities in England, including Birmingham. Councils then determine how many homes to actually plan for in their area, once they have considered their ability to meet those needs, having taken into account local constraints and circumstances.

Recreation Spaces: Environment Protection

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps through the National Planning Policy Framework to protect parks and green spaces.

Lee Rowley: The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that existing land for open space, sports and recreational buildings should not be built on unless an assessment deems them to be surplus to requirements, or the proposed development ensures equivalent or superior provision in a suitable alternate location.The NPPF also allows local planning authorities and communities to designate and protect important green spaces by formally designating them as Local Green Space through local and neighbourhood plans, providing formal protection through the framework.

Housing: Birmingham Hall Green

Tahir Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to increase the provision of housing for homeless families in Birmingham, Hall Green constituency.

Felicity Buchan: We are committed to tackling homelessness. For those who find themselves at risk of homelessness, we are investing over £1 billion in the Homelessness Prevention Grant over three years. Birmingham has been allocated £16.9 million between 2023/24 and 2024/25.At the Autumn Statement government announced a further £120 million funding to help councils address Ukraine and homelessness pressures in 2024/25, including funding for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme delivers thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country.We are also launching a £450 million third round of the Local Authority Housing Fund.  This will provide capital funding to local authorities to obtain better quality temporary accommodation for those owed a homelessness duty and to provide safe and suitable housing for those on Afghan resettlement schemes.

Homelessness

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information he holds on how many people were homeless on 25 December 2022.

Felicity Buchan: The statutory homelessness statistics for England publishes quarterly data from local authorities, including households in temporary accommodation at the end of each quarter. Data for October – December 2022 is available at Tables on homelessness - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Housing: Construction

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to help ensure new housing developments are resilient to flooding.

Lee Rowley: The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) outlines the strong protections against flooding for housing, including tests to consider if it can be demonstrated that the development is appropriately flood resistant and resilient.These tests are in place to protect people and property. Where they are not met, local authorities should not be permitting new development.

Disadvantaged

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the national statistics entitled English indices of deprivation 2019, published on 26 September 2019, when his Department plans to publish updates statistics.

Jacob Young: The most recent iteration of the English Indices of Deprivation was published in September 2019 and all resources are available online here.Following a competitive tender process this Summer, Deprivation.org and Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion (OCSI) have been commissioned to update the English Indices of Deprivation.Provisionally, we anticipate a release date in 2025. Once a date is confirmed it will be announced on the GOV.UK website.

Northern Ireland Office

Elections: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the report by the Electoral Commission entitled Report on the May 2023 local elections in Northern Ireland, published on 13 July 2023, if he will hold discussions with the Electoral Commission on (a) that report and (b) the reference to the neutrality of media tv and press coverage during the election.

Mr Steve Baker: Northern Ireland Office Ministers and officials meet regularly with the Electoral Commission to discuss a range of electoral issues in Northern Ireland, including those raised in their Report on the May 2023 local elections in Northern Ireland.

Hate Crime: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will have discussions with the Irish Government on the potential implications of the provisions in the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill on UK citizens living in Northern Ireland.

Mr Steve Baker: The Irish Criminal Justice Bill is still going through the legislative process in the normal manner. Irish and UK Government officials engage regularly on a range of issues. My understanding of the current drafting is that there are no specific implications for UK citizens in Northern Ireland nor indeed anywhere else in the United Kingdom.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Electricity Generation: East of England

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to page 61 of the Autumn Statement 2023 and page 64 of the connections action plan, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of including in the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) (a) the development of an offshore grid covering offshore wind farms off the coast of the East of England and (b) a reassessment of proposals from National Grid for the Norwich to Tilbury Great Grid Upgrade.

Andrew Bowie: The Strategic Spatial Energy Plan will determine the optimal scale and location of energy infrastructure needed to transition to homegrown energy. This will inform the delivery of the Central Strategic Network Plan, which will consider what network and other infrastructure is needed to link new energy generation with end users.

Boilers: Heat Pumps

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to encourage the take-up of hybrid heat pumps.

Andrew Bowie: The recent consultation on Improving Boiler Standards and Efficiency explored the role hybrid heat pumps could play in supporting the transition to low carbon heat. A response will be published in due course. In the meantime, the Government is supporting targeted deployment of hybrid heating systems in defined circumstances through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and the Sustainable Warmth competition. Qualifying hybrid heat pump systems will also be included in the new Clean Heat Market Mechanism scheme from 2024.

Heating: Fossil Fuels

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether it remains her Department's policy to require owners of commercial premises to replace fossil fuel boilers with electric heating systems from 2024.

Andrew Bowie: We are carefully considering the feedback received from our 2021 consultation on phasing out fossil fuel heating systems for off gas grid businesses and public buildings and will publish our response in due course. The Government acknowledges that businesses and organisations require sufficient lead in time to plan installation of a replacement heating system and we will consider this ahead of publishing the consultation response.

Heating: Biofuels

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has plans to consult on a biomass strategy in respect of off-grid heating.

Andrew Bowie: On 5 September 2023, during Parliamentary debates on the Energy Act, the Government committed to exploring the potential of renewable liquid fuels for heat by issuing a consultation within 12 months.

Climate Change Convention: United Arab Emirates

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will set out the Government’s priorities for COP28.

Andrew Bowie: I refer the hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made by my Rt hon Friend the Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero (Graham Stuart) on 30 November. This can be seen here.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme: British National (Overseas)

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether people living in the UK on a British National (Overseas) visa are eligible for the boiler upgrade scheme.

Amanda Solloway: The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) supports the installation of air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps, and, in limited circumstances, biomass boilers in domestic and small non-domestic buildings in England and Wales. For someone to access the BUS grant they must be the property owner and their property must be in England or Wales.

Energy: Conservation

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether it remains her Department's policy to reduce domestic energy consumption by 15 per cent by 2030.

Amanda Solloway: In the 2022 Autumn statement, the Government set out a national ambition to reduce energy use by 15% by 2030 compared to 2021. The Government remains committed to our existing targets, which keep us on track to meet Net Zero in 2050.

Energy Charter Treaty

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to her Department's press release entitled UK reviewing membership of energy treaty, published on 1 September 2023, what assessment she has made of the implications for her (a) policies on and (b) review of UK membership of the Energy Charter Treaty of the removal of the modernisation process from the agenda for that Treaty's annual conference.

Amanda Solloway: The UK is reviewing its Energy Charter Treaty membership, recognising the continued impasse in adopting the modernised Treaty and carefully considering the views of stakeholders in business, civil society, and Parliament. The Government will inform Parliament of the UK’s position at the earliest opportunity.

Offshore Industry: North Sea

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the press release entitled New opportunities for North Sea oil and gas, published by the Prime Minister's Office on 5 November 2023, if she will publish a breakdown of the more than 200,000 jobs supported by the combined oil and gas industry.

Amanda Solloway: The Department does not have the breakdowns for workforce groups in the combined oil and gas sector. I refer the hon Member to the 2022 OEUK Workforce Insights Report which includes breakdowns of the workforce including by region and job description.

Energy Bills Rebate

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Answer of 5 June 2023 to Question 186433 on Energy Bills Rebate, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of Energy Bill Support Scheme Alternative Funding for supporting applicants who are hard-to-reach through mainstream channels.

Amanda Solloway: The Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) Alternative Funding provided over £61 million support to households who did not have a contract with a domestic electricity supplier and could not be reached by the main EBSS scheme. The final application figures for the schemes were published on GOV.UK on 19 October. The EBSS Alternative Funding Continuous Cruisers scheme has extended energy bills support further, to itinerant boat dwellers registered with the Canal and River Trust as continuous cruisers during the period from 27 February to 31 May when the EBSS Alternative Funding schemes (Great Britain and Northern Ireland) were open.

Offshore Industry and Renewable Energy: Investment

David Duguid: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to encourage investment in the (a) offshore oil and gas industry and (b) renewables sector.

Andrew Bowie: The Government has been clear in its support for the upstream oil and gas sector. The recent announcement of the first 27 licences from the 33rd Offshore Oil and Gas Licensing Round and our new Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, requiring annual licensing, support this. Since 2010, the UK has seen £198 billion of investment into low carbon energy. The Government recently announced that its flagship scheme for supporting renewable electricity projects, the Contracts for Differences scheme, would see significant uplifts to the maximum price for offshore wind projects and other renewables in next year's auction.

Green Homes Grant Scheme

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to her Department's publication entitled Evaluation of the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme, published in June 2023, how many (a) leaseholders and (b) freeholders (i) applied for and (ii) received funding from the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme.

Andrew Bowie: Information on the number of household applications and the number of households with at least one measure installed under the Green Homes Grant Voucher scheme can be found in Table 1.1 of the latest Green Homes Grant Voucher statistical release. The Department does not hold data on the leasehold or freehold status of property owners under the scheme.

Green Homes Grant Scheme

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what data her Department holds on the number of (a) leaseholders and (b) freeholders that have received retrofitting grants in the last 12 months.

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what data her Department holds on the number of (a) leaseholders and (b) freeholders on behalf of leasehold properties who have successfully accessed retrofitting grants in the last 12 months.

Andrew Bowie: The Government does not record this data. Under the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, Home Upgrade Grant, and Local Authority delivery schemes, grants are allocated to local authorities rather than individual households. For these schemes the Government does not hold data on whether the property is leasehold or freehold. For the Energy Company Obligation, grants are not given to individual households as energy companies are obligated to install measures. For the Boiler Upgrade scheme where grants go directly to households, the Government also does not collect information about the leasehold or freehold status of a property owner that applies for the grant.

Climate Change Convention: United Arab Emirates

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, which Ministers will attend COP28.

Andrew Bowie: My Rt hon Friends the Prime Minister and Secretary of State will attend COP28, as well as Ministers from the following departments: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, HM Treasury, Department for Transport, and Department for Health and Social Care.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: ICT

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which non-departmental public bodies sponsored by her Department are using legacy IT system which are no longer receiving updates from their original software developers.

Sir John Whittingdale: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has no legacy infrastructure, all services have been transformed as part of the initial transformation programme undertaken in 2021. We therefore do not hold this data. DCMS does not hold information on systems used by non-departmental public bodies sponsored by the Department.